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Syria

September 4, 2026

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Syria destroys 42 bombs in chemical stockpile purge: What to know

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has resumed its inspections in Syria and confirmed that at least 42 aerial bombs have been destroyed by Syrian authorities in the first such efforts since 2014.

Tribal and Bedouin fighters deploy in the western neighborhood of southern Syria's predominantly Druze city of Suwayda amid clashes with Druze gunmen on July 19, 2025.

Fresh fighting in Syria's Suwayda leaves one dead: What to know

Renewed clashes in Suwayda highlight the fragile security situation in the Druze-majority province.

Latest News

UAE investment fuels Syria's postwar economic recovery with $7B property deal

Ongoing construction work is pictured at a site in Marota City, a new mixed-use development project near the Umayyad Square in Damascus on July 22, 2026. Syria's new leaders, who inherited a dilapidated economy, are trying to attract capital without waiting for the full lifting of international sanctions. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

UAE gauges new Lebanon deals amid Levant economic stabilization push

JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

Why Turkey welcomes Israel-Syria talks despite mounting red lines

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrive for a joint press conference following their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Feb. 4, 2025.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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 refugees trained to restore cultural heritage

An Istanbul-based project that trained Syrians to work in the field of cultural restoration received an award from Europa Nostra.

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., November 13, 2019. REUTERS/Tom Brenner? - RC2HAD9VX4UB

Absent new agreements, Trump-Erdogan meeting ends with pledge to work together

US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Washington to rebuild US-Turkish relations without setting a clear path for progress.

Eastern Syria fighters accused of brutality after videos emerge

The commander of Ahrar al-Sharqiya, an armed faction whose fighters have been accused of extrajudicial killings, spoke to Al-Monitor about his militants' relationship to the eastern Deir ez-Zor region.

Egypt boosts ties with Syria

In response to Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria, the Egyptian parliament hosted Syrian Ambassador to Egypt Bassam Darwish in a move to show its official support for Syria against Turkey, and as a prelude to better diplomatic relations.

This picture taken on August 16, 2019 shows a smoke plume rising following a reported air strike in Kfar Ruma in Syria's northwestern Idlib province. - Air strikes on August 16 by Syria's regime and its Russian ally killed 15 civilians in the area controlled by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Idlib province, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The strikes came as regime forces battled HTS jihadists and allied rebels in the region, where fierce fighting

Russia chides Turkey over Idlib — again

Russia's foreign minister has demanded Turkey end tensions in Syria's Idlib, indicating Russia will continue to use Idlib as a pressure point to keep Ankara in line.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attend the start of the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium July 11, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC117DD2EDF0

Can Trump, Erdogan pick up the pieces in Syria?

Putin gains from the fallout in US-Turkey ties and the Kurds are still counting on US influence with Ankara.

Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring effectively divides Syria into five sectors

The essential division of northeastern Syria into five sectors has created a highly combustible environment where one small spark is enough to start a massive fire.

An Islamic State flag flies over the custom office of Syria's Jarablus border gate as it is pictured from the Turkish town of Karkamis, in Gaziantep province, Turkey August 1, 2015. Karkamis is a Turkish town of 10,500 people that sits directly opposite the border post. Shut for more than a year, the military sealed the crossing with a breeze block wall a few months ago. Behind it, just inside Syria, the black flag of Islamic State flaps in the breeze. Karkamis lies on the northeastern edge of a rectangle o

Turkey-Europe ties brace for fresh rift over stateless IS militants

The fate of foreign Islamic State militants captured in Syria is looming as a big headache for Turkey as many of them are now stateless, expelled from the citizenship of European countries.

U.S. President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC15E2597F00

Seeking to restore relations on Capitol Hill, Erdogan to visit Trump in Washington

With US-Turkey ties in disarray, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed his Nov. 13 meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington, where he may seek to win over allies in Congress.

General view of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, May 30, 2019. Picture taken May 30, 2019. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC14404B7D30

Is it time for a historic paradigm shift in the Persian Gulf?

Could this be the moment for the countries in the Gulf region to realize they have a lot in common and take steps to reduce conflict?

What messages lie behind Assad’s visit to southern Idlib?

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s recent visit to the front line in southern Idlib province raised controversy and questions among opposition forces about Assad's goals and what messages he might have been sending — and to whom.

American soldiers stand near military trucks, at al-Omar oil field in Deir Al Zor, Syria March 23, 2019. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC168E86AEF0

Syrian Kurds OK US-led oil mission

The commander of the Pentagon-backed Syrian Democratic Forces has signed off to help the Donald Trump administration protect the war-torn country’s oil fields, even amid an ongoing Turkish incursion the group has lobbied the United States to stop.