Syria - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Palmyra

Syria

April 15, 2026

Damascus 11:40 pm

14°C

This handout photograph provided by the Turkish Foreign Ministry press service shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (R) in Damascus on Dec. 22, 2025.

Analysis

How the Iran war can help Syria manage Turkey and its regional rivals

Rising regional tensions and disrupted oil flows are giving Damascus leverage to balance Ankara and other neighbors while exploring alternative energy corridors.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

A member of the Popular Mobilization Forces patrols along a concrete wall at the Iraqi-Syrian border in Al-Qaim, west of Iraq, on Jan. 23, 2026.

Syria reopens key crossing after 11 years, aiding Iraq's oil exports amid war

Iraq and Syria have shown a desire to cooperate on oil exports, and the matter has become more urgent due to the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Sharaa, King Charles

In UK visit, Syria’s Sharaa doubles down on Western ties amid Iran war, refugee pressures

After talks with UK leaders on Tuesday, Syria's president said the country would remain neutral in the Iran conflict unless it was targeted.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (R) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa depart after speaking to the media following talks at the Chancellery on March 30, 2026, in Berlin, Germany.

Analysis

Why Germany may struggle to meet Merz’s 80% Syria repatriation goal

Germany, which hosts the EU’s largest Syrian refugee population, is pushing to repatriate Syrians, but Syria’s domestic issues and legal protections for asylum seekers complicate those efforts.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Latest News

Syria sustains drone attack from Iraq, tackles smuggling tunnels on Lebanon border

Members of the Popular Mobilization Units stand guard along the Iraqi-Syrian border in Al-Qaim, west of Iraq, on Jan. 23, 2026.

Syrian authorities restrict alcohol sales in Damascus: What to know

People drink and chat in a bar in the old town in Damascus on June 19, 2025 in Damascus, Syria.

Top Kurdish critic of Damascus named Syria's deputy defense minister

Sipan Hemo

Syria’s Sharaa blasts Iran’s 'destabilizing' role, moves closer to US, Gulf

A boy walks past an unexploded missile that landed in an open field on the outskirts of Qamishli, eastern Syria, on March 5, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Cagatay Cebe

In Istanbul, reporting on security and counterterrorism

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad meets with his Russian counterpart at the headquarters of the Russian forces in the Syrian capital Damascus on January 7, 2020. - Putin met his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad during an unprecedented visit to Damascus as the prospect of war between Iran and the United States loomed over the region. (Photo by Alexei Druzhinin / SPUTNIK / AFP) (Photo by ALEXEI DRUZHININ/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

Syrian President Assad, wife test positive for COVID-19

The president and first lady Asma are in good health and getting treated at home. The country has yet to obtain vaccines, and the UN fears cases are much higher in Syria than reported.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY MAHER MOUNNES
A Syrian man and two youths sell locally extracted and refined fuel from a makeshift refinery in Qamishli, a Kurdish-majority city in Hasakeh province, on July 15, 2015. A Kurdish local administration decided to take matters into its own hands, restarting extraction at 150 wells and creating around 20 makeshift refineries producing around 15,000 barrels of oil a day, more than the barely 10,000 bpd that Syria's government generates. AFP PHOTO / YOUSSEF KARWASHAN

Fuel shortage chills northeast Syria as oil production lags

The fuel shortage in northeast Syria has left civilians struggling to find cooking and heating fuel this winter.

Yazidis refugees carry their belongings on January 3, 2017 in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey as they change their refugee camp and move to Midyat, further south.
The population of Yazidis reaches 700,000, the majority residing in northern Iraq where persecution from Islamic State jihadists led to as many as 40,000 Yazidis fleeing their ancestral homes to the Sinjar Mountains in northwestern Iraq, where they were trapped without food or water. / AFP / ILYAS AKENGIN (Photo credit should read ILYAS AKE

Online ‘auctions’ of Yazidi captives speak of ongoing Islamic State activity in Turkey

The rescue of a 7-year-old Yazidi captive in Ankara raises questions about how hard Turkey is trying to tackle Islamic State militants in the country.

Belgian children and some women to be repatriated from IS camp in Syria.

The Belgian prime minister said the children in the notorious al-Hol camp could become “the terrorists of tomorrow.” Women will be repatriated on a case-by-case basis.

Freedom House: Syria, Western Sahara worst in world for political rights

The think tank also downgraded Jordan to "not free" in its 2021 democracy rankings.

Syrian rebel fighters play a game by candle light, due to electricity cuts on May 26, 2013 in Adana, near the northeastern city of Deir Ezzor. Syria's opposition denounced as "too little, too late" an EU decision to lift an arms embargo on rebels fighting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. AFP PHOTO / RICARDO GARCIA VILANOVA (Photo credit should read Ricardo Garcia Vilanova/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey to supply electricity to opposition-held areas in Syria

Authorities affiliated with the opposition in the cities of Tell Abyad and Ras al-Ain in northern Syria recently signed an agreement to import Turkish electricity, as the Syrian regime forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces continue to control the feeding stations of these areas.

TOPSHOT - This picture taken on November 23, 2019 shows the aftermath of a car bomb explosion at the industrial zone in the northern Syrian town of Tal Abyad, on the border with Turkey. - Several people were killed, including civilians, over a dozen injured by the blast in the Turkish-controlled northern Syrian town. Turkey and its Syrian proxies control several pockets of territory on the Syrian side of the border as a result of successive incursions in 2016-17, 2018 and 2019. (Photo by Zein Al RIFAI / AFP

Syrian opposition accuses Kurdish forces of booby-trapping fuel trucks

The Syrian armed opposition factions are accusing the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces of planting explosive devices in fuel-laden trucks along the border with the opposition areas to prevent smuggling of fuel.

Aid groups overwhelmed by needs and numbers of displaced Syrians

In an attempt to alleviate the suffering of the displaced and as part of the winter response plan for the camps, Syrian humanitarian organizations are implementing different projects. But they have still failed to reach radical solutions.

Syria reports new Israeli airstrikes following explosion on Israeli ship in the Gulf

Israel's public broadcaster Kan reported that the missile strikes near Damascus were in response to the explosion aboard an Israeli ship in the Gulf of Oman last week.

Syrian refugees are no longer guests in Sudan

Sudan is changing its rules for Syrians wishing to reside in the country after years of being able to travel to Sudan without a visa, and the right to work, education and medical care.

Civil society in northeast Syria promotes women’s role to fight extremism

A civil society organization in northern and eastern Syria has launched a project to eradicate violent extremism by promoting the role of women on the educational and economic levels.

Saudi-backed government troops repel a Huthi rebel offensive on oil-rich Marib, some 120 kilometres (75 miles) east of Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa, on February 14, 2021. - The UNs humanitarian chief said he was "very alarmed" by a Huthi rebel assault on the Yemeni governments last northern stronghold of Marib, saying it could endanger millions of civilians. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden administration shouldn’t stop with Yemen

The United States can also play a key role in diplomacy to end wars in Syria and Libya.