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July 3, 2026

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Volunteers of the Druze-led National Guard manage traffic at a checkpoint, Suwayda, Syria, Jan. 22, 2026.

Clashes between Druze fighters, Syrian forces raise fears of renewed violence

The episodes in Druze-majority Suwayda escalated amid kidnappings, various disputes, and absent movement on integrating Druze into state institutions.

Oil drilling near Dakhiliyah in the desert region of Hasakah, Syria, Jan. 25, 2026.

Syria launches gas project with Saudi firm in latest Gulf energy partnership

The project is the latest in a series of Gulf-backed investments aimed at rebuilding Syria's energy sector after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Nawaf Salam and Asaad al-Shibani shake hands in Beirut on July 2, 2026.

Syria, Lebanon stress noninterference as Damascus mulls Hezbollah talks

When asked whether Damascus would be willing to meet with Hezbollah in the future, Syria’s foreign minister indicated that it would not rule out such a meeting.

Syrian security forces and people gather at the site of an explosion at a cafe in the capital, Damascus, on July 2, 2026.

At least 6 killed, 22 wounded in Damascus cafe explosion: What to know

Syrian authorities have yet to identify a perpetrator in relation to the incident, and armed groups opposing the transitional government did not immediately take credit.

Latest News

Explainer

Turkey eases job rules for 1M+ Syrians under temporary protection: What to know

Syrian textile employees work in a textile workshop in Gaziantep, Turkey, on Jan. 30, 2025.

Syria announces Sharaa's parliamentary appointees, SDF Kurds sidelined

Al Sharaa

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

James Jeffrey, top US official on Syria and Islamic State, retiring

The veteran diplomat will be replaced by his Syria deputy, Joel Rayburn, and top counterterrorism official Nathan Sales.

Mazloum Abdi (Kobani), commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks with AFP during an interview in the countryside outside the northwestern Syrian city of Hasakah, in the province of the same name, on January 24, 2019. - Any deal between Syria's Kurds and the Damascus regime should respect the "special status" of Kurdish-led forces who fought the Islamic State (IS) group, Kobani said. The SDF control around a third of Syria after expelling jihadists from a large northeastern swathe of t

Interview

Syrian Kurdish commander sees chance to ease tensions with Turkey under Biden

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Mazlum Kobane said the former vice president's victory may well spell change in Ankara’s behavior.

Mazlum Kobane

Mazlum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

Members of the Deir Ezzor Military Council (DEMC), a coalition of Arab tribes and fighters that belongs to the broader US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, stand in line during an announcement by their leader, Ahmed Abu Khawlah (bottom-C), in the town of Shadadi, about 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of the northeastern Syrian city of Hassakeh, on August 25, 2017.
The US-backed Arab and Kurdish fighters said on August 25, 2017 that they would launch an offensive "very soon" to oust the Islamic State (IS) grou

Islamic State regroups in Syrian Kurdish region

Islamic State cells carry out assassinations against the SDF in the SDF-controlled countryside of Deir ez-Zor on an almost daily basis, affecting some civilians and tribal leaders close to the SDF.

'How Does a Detonator Work?' Portland man indicted for publishing Islamic State newsletter

Hawazen Sameer Mothafar allegedly helped IS with social media and published articles online that encouraged jihadi attacks.

Tulsi Gabbard succeeded in House by Afghan war veteran

Gabbard, a Democrat from Hawaii who served in the Army in Iraq and ran for president in 2020, has been a critic of the US prosecution of "endless wars." Her successor, Democrat Kai Kahele, served in Afghanistan.

Turkish-backed Syrian rebel fighters, mask-clad due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, take part in a military parade marking the graduation of a new batch of cadets and attended by officials from the Turkey-backed opposition in the town of Jindayris, in the Afrin region of the northern Syrian rebel-held province of Aleppo, on November 14, 2020. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP) (Photo by BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images)

As Turkey pounds northeast Syria, residents fear new operation

A year after Operation Peace Spring, the residents in the areas under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces fear a new Turkish operation.

A man walks past window shops while nearby pillars are adorned with posters showing Syrian PResident Bashar al-Assad superimposed over Damascus' historic Umayyad mosque, in al-Salihiya district of the capital Damascus on June 10, 2020. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Assad blames Syria’s economic turmoil on Lebanon, not sanctions

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad estimates that Syrians hold between $20 billion and $42 billion in Lebanon's banks.

Lindsey Graham, vocal senator on Syria policy, wins reelection

The South Carolina Republican and member of the Foreign Relations Committee has both praised and criticized Trump's policies on Syria, Israel and other places.

Flowers, candles and an Austria scarf are left at a memorial site at the scene of an attack in Vienna, Austria on November 3, 2020, one day after a shooting at multiple locations across central Vienna. - A huge manhunt was under way after gunmen opened fire at multiple locations across central Vienna in the evening of November 2, 2020, killing at least four people in what Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz described as a "repulsive terror attack". (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP) (Photo by JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Get

Vienna shooter tried to join Islamic State in Syria

Kujtim Fejzulai shot dead four people Monday night in the Austrian capital before being killed by police.

Syrians take part in the funeral of 10 fighters with the Turkey-backed Faylaq al-Sham rebel faction in Syria, in the northwestern city of Idlib, on October 26, 2020, following their death in a Russian air strike. - Air strikes by Syrian regime ally Russia killed 78 fighters from the turkey-backed Faylaq al-Sham faction when they targeted a training camp in the Jabal Duwayli area in Idlib province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. (Photo by Mohammed AL-RIFAI / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED AL-RIFAI/AF

Are attacks on Syrian opposition signal from Moscow to Ankara?

As Turkey conducts simultaneous campaigns in different theaters — including assistance to Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict — Moscow must be tempted to exploit the turbulence to extract concessions from Ankara.

Civilians drive along a road behind a Turkish military convoy through the village of Iblin, near Ariha in Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province on October 20, 2020 after Turkish forces vacated the Morek post in Hama's countryside. - Turkey started withdrawing from one of its largest outposts in northwest Syria encircled for the past year by Syrian regime forces, a war monitor and a pro-Ankara rebel commander said. The outpost in Morek is Turkey's largest in the northwest province of Hama, which is

How Turkey’s withdrawal from Morek post affects opposition factions in northeast Syria

Turkish forces withdrew from their observation post in the city of Morek, raising many questions about the fate of Turkish-backed rebels in the surrounding area.

Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses his party's group meeting at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara, on October 28, 2020. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The Takeaway: Is Erdogan’s threat to Syrian Kurds linked to US election?

Turkish president also calculates risk of escalation in Idlib; a primer on the Idlib ceasefires; plus: four more quick takes on Syria and Iraq.