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

Palmyra

Syria

September 18, 2025

Damascus 2:08 am

21°C

Turkish Presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin gives a press conference following talks with Sweden and Finland over their bids to join NATO at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on May 25, 2022.

Turkey’s spy chief in Damascus as Israel, Syria weigh new security map

Ibrahim Kalin’s visit comes as Israel presses Syria on a buffer zone plan and Turkey frets over Kurdish autonomy.

Bedouin and tribal fighters deploy at the western entrance of Syria's Druze heartland of Suwayda on July 18, 2025.

Syria, Jordan, US unveil road map to stabilize Suwayda after clashes: What to know

The news comes along with reports that Syria has withdrawn heavy weaponry from the south, seemingly complying with Israel's demands for a demilitarized zone in southern Syria.

Interim Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa appears in the Citadel of Aleppo in Syria, on May 27, 2025.

Syria holds first post‑Assad parliamentary vote: What to know

Syria’s first post-Assad parliamentary elections — with seats chosen by local committees rather than a public vote — spark backlash as the government postpones voting in Druze- and Kurdish-majority regions.

CENTCOM

Top US general discusses SDF integration with Sharaa in Damascus

The CENTCOM commander's involvement adds heft to US diplomatic requests as lawmakers float future defense ties between Washington and Damascus.

Latest News

Syria claims Hezbollah cell plotting attacks arrested in Damascus: What we know

Syria

Russia sends second Syria delegation since Assad’s fall to safeguard military interests

His Excellency the President of the Republic, Ahmed al-Sharaa, meets at the People's Palace in the capital, Damascus, with the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Novak.

After sanctions, GitHub reopens to Syrian coders in boost for digital revival

A photo illustration shows a laptop screen displays welcome screens and messages on the Github developer platform website, on February 23, 2024 in London, England.

Exclusive

UK-based oil firm victim of standoff between Damascus, Syria’s Kurds

This picture shows pumpjacks in an oil field and smoke plumes rising in the background, following reported Turkish drone strikes near the town of al-Qahtaniyah in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province, close to the border with Turkey, on Nov. 23, 2022.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Pentagon 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

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik on July 25, 2024, Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad at the Kremlin in Moscow on July 24, 2024.

Analysis

Does Putin have any cards left in Syria?

Al-Monitor’s unmatched coverage of events in Syria.

Andrew Parasiliti

By Andrew Parasiliti

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, national security

Palestinians stand in wait for a food portion at a distribution centre south of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on December 17, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP) (Photo by BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Feature

Buoyed by Assad's ouster in Syria, Palestinians hope for end to Gaza war

Palestinians in Gaza are hoping the fall of Assad in Syria will lead to an end of the Israeli war and occupation.

Rasha Abou Jalal

By Rasha Abou Jalal

In Gaza City, reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

A Syrian refugee gestures as she speaks with Turkish soldiers at Cilvegozu crossborder gate before entering in Syria at Reyhanli district in Hatay, on December 9, 2024. Islamist-led rebels declared on December 8, 2024, that they have taken the Syrian capital in a lightning offensive, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Feature

'Immense joy and disbelief': Syrians in Turkey want to return, but uncertainty prevails

While celebrating President Bashar al-Assad's fall, many Syrians in Turkey remain cautious about returning until more stability and security are assured.

A correspondent in Turkey

By A correspondent in Turkey

Members of the Syrian community in Berlin hold flags of Syria and Germany as they celebrate the collapse of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, Dec. 8, 2024.

Analysis

EU seeks channels with HTS as it grapples with post-Assad Syria

The European Union will need a creative solution to establish communications with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a designated terror organization and the caretaker government in Syria.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

TOPSHOT - An aerial view shows a Syrian man waving the independence-era Syrian flag at Damascus' central Umayyad Square on December 11, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP) (Photo by BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images)

Feature

Dispatch from Damascus: Syrians celebrate end of Assad reign in shadow of atrocities

From horror to hope, Syrians are embracing a new political order as they turn the page on the Assad dynasty and grieve the ones they lost in atrocities by the toppled regime.

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

People chant slogans and wave flags in celebration after performing the first Friday prayer since the fall of the Assad regime at the Umayyad Mosque on Dec. 13, 2024 in Damascus, Syria.

Gulf states reach out to new Syrian leaders ahead of Jordan talks: What we know

Bahrain's King Hamad sent a letter to HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, while the UAE has held direct contact with opposition groups. Qatar is set to reopen embassy in Damascus soon.

JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel builds flexible presence in Syria as window opens to strike Iran

Israeli leaders keep stressing that the military presence in the buffer zone and on Mount Hermon is temporary, but a lot will depend on who will control Syria hence on

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

A Russian soldier stands next to submarines at the Russian naval base in the Syrian Mediterranean port of Tartus on Sept. 26, 2019.

Russia, HTS in 'direct contact' to keep bases in Syria: What we know

Russia is reaching out to the new seat of power in Syria in a bid to maintain its military bases in the country, citing the ongoing threat of the Islamic State.

People examine documents at Sednaya Prison, where thousands of people were said to be detained and tortured by the Assad regime.

After Assad downfall, US family clings to hope as Syria prison search unfolds

The daughter of Majd Kamalmaz, an American citizen presumed dead in Syria, describes her anguish as she awaits answers on what happened to her father.

Visiting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (R) and his wife, Asma, (C) visit the Great Wall near Beijing, on June 22, 2004, during the Middle East leader's first full day in the Chinese capital.

Analysis

In Syria, China not beholden to Assad but alarmed over Uyghur links to HTS

While Assad's regional policies were in semblance with China’s when it came to supporting the Palestinians, defying US policy and shoring up ties with Iran, it was Bashar’s cronyism, his mishandling of the war and the economy that made him less of a strategic asset for Beijing.

Joyce Karam

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional geopolitics, China in the Middle East

An aerial view shows a Syrian man waving the independence-era Syrian flag at Damascus' central Umayyad Square, on Dec. 11, 2024.

Turkey’s intel chief in Damascus, set to meet Syria's transition, HTS leaders

The Turkish intelligence chief reportedly plans to hold talks with rebel leaders as US Secretary Antony Blinken is due to arrive in Ankara for crucial discussions on Syria.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies about the fiscal year 2025 needs of the State Department during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. Washington, DC, May 21, 2024.

Blinken testifies to Congress on Syria, Afghan aid before trip to Jordan, Turkey

The US secretary of state urged lawmakers not to deprioritize US aid to Afghans, defended the US withdrawal in 2021 and outlined US priorities in Syria post-Assad.