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September 7, 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

TIMELINE: Key players reflect on US policy in Syria

In this interactive timeline, US lawmakers and former administration officials open up about their failure to prevent disaster in Syria.

Members of the interim government of democratic self-administered party stand after declaring a provincial government, in the city of Amuda near Hasaka January 21, 2014. Kurds in Syria declared a provincial government in the north of the country on Tuesday, consolidating their geographic and political presence on the eve of peace talks in Switzerland at which they will not be represented. The municipal council will run affairs in one of three administrative districts set up by Kurds, who have seized upon t

Syrian Kurdish leader calls for federal state

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Akram Hesso, the Kurdish head of Syria's Jazeera canton, spoke about the Syrian Kurds' relations with regional and international players as well as a model for federal rule in Syria.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu addresses the media in Ankara, Turkey February 20, 2016, as he is flanked by his deputies Tugrul Turkes (L), Numan Kurtulmus (2nd L) and Interior Minister Efkan Ala (R). Turkey is to tighten security across the country, and especially the capital, following a car bombing that killed 28 people in Ankara this week, Davutoglu said on Saturday. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX27U3T

How much support did Turkey provide to Syrian opposition?

The Turkish prime minister claimed that Turkey has done more than Arab countries to aid the Syrian rebels, though he stopped short of providing details about Turkey's "support."

Protesters carry banners and wave Lebanese, Yemeni and Hezbollah flags during a protest against Saudi-led air strikes on Yemen, in front of the offices of the U.N. headquarters in Beirut May 12, 2015. Saudi-led air strikes pounded the rebel-held Yemeni capital Sanaa on Tuesday just hours before a five-day humanitarian ceasefire was set to begin. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RTX1CNBR

Is the Saudi, Lebanese relationship gone for good?

In retaliation for Hezbollah’s support of the Houthis in Yemen, Saudi Arabia has launched a campaign designed to pressure Lebanon.

Syrian Army forces look on as buses leave district of Waer during a truce between the government and rebels, in Homs, Syria December 9, 2015. Scores of people left the last area held by insurgents in the Syrian city of Homs on Wednesday under a local truce between the government and rebels, a monitoring group said, a rare agreement in Syria's nearly five-year conflict. Three buses carrying people had left the previously besieged district of Waer, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. About 750 peopl

Will current truce pave way for permanent cease-fire in Syria?

Experts on Syria say the recent cease-fire implemented in Syria is only a temporary truce that will not lead to a long-term peaceful solution to the crisis.

Is Syrian regime about to retake Raqqa?

The Syrian army has launched an unprecedented battle in Raqqa province, the stronghold of the Islamic State in Syria, and is making its way toward Tabqa city, the second-largest city in the province.

Two Syrians wait on the Turkish side of the Oncupinar border crossing for their parents to arrive from Syria, on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern city of Kilis, Turkey, February 8, 2016. REUTERS/Osman Orsal TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX25Y24

How Syria's earliest refugees are about to become Turkish citizens

Turkey's earliest Syrian refugees will soon complete their five-year waiting period for Turkish citizenship, and political players are calculating those Syrians' significant eventual power.

27,000 Syrian refugees stranded near Jordanian border

A senior European diplomat has criticized Amman for leaving Syrian refugees stranded "indefinitely" near Jordanian-Syrian border.

Head of the Badr Organisation Hadi al-Amiri (C) walks with Shi'ite fighters in Makhoul mountains, north of Baiji, October 17, 2015. Iraqi forces and Shi'ite militia fighters recaptured most of the country’s largest oil refinery from Islamic State militants on Thursday, security officials said. The report could not be independently confirmed because it is too dangerous for journalists to enter the battle zone around the refinery near the town of Baiji, about 190 km (120 miles) north of Baghdad. REUTERS/Thaie

Why Saudis may take on Iraq’s Shiite militias

Saudi Arabia sees Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units, formed from various Shiite militias to fight the Islamic State, as a dangerous long-term foe for the Sunni Islamic world.

A woman, affected by what activists say was a gas attack, breathes through an oxygen mask inside a field hospital in Kfar Zeita village in the central province of Hama April 12, 2014. Syrian opposition activists have posted photographs and video that they say shows an improvised chlorine bomb to back up claims that President Bashar al-Assad's forces used chemical weapons in two attacks last week. Rebels and the government have blamed each other for the alleged poison gas attacks on Friday and Saturday on re

Congress goes after Assad for war crimes

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of Feb. 29.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (2nd L), Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (L) and Turkish Army Chief of Staff General Hulusi Akar (3rd L) look on as honour guard carry the flag-draped coffin of Army officer Seckin Cil during a funeral ceremony in Ankara, Turkey, February 18, 2016. Army officer Seckin Cil was killed during the clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants in Sur district of the southeastern city of Diyarbakir. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX27J7E

Is Turkey 'on the hook' regarding Syria cease-fire?

US-Russia agreement on Syria is a possible breakthrough in peace efforts; Erdogan calls US alliance with Syrian Kurds a “Great Lie.”

U.S. President Barack Obama extends his hand to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX1SYBB

White House: Russia ‘on the hook’ for Syria truce

The White House said Russia is ‘on the hook’ for the success of the partial Syria truce set to start Feb. 27, and cautioned that the truce is likely to take time to take hold, and will face setbacks.