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Syria

September 21, 2025

Damascus 10:37 pm

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Israeli troops patrol the border fence with Syria near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights, July 23, 2025.

Analysis

Seeking leeway on Gaza, Netanyahu backs Trump’s Syria pact push

The US is working intensively to arrange a historic meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Syrian President Sharaa on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York.

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

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Analysis

From Palestine push to Sharaa’s UN debut: What to watch at UN summit

The annual international get-together will feature a wave of Palestinian statehood recognition, the Syrian president’s United Nations debut and possible 11th-hour diplomacy with Iran.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Otto Pedersen addresses a press conference in Damascus on Jan. 22, 2025.

UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen steps down after six years

Pedersen is leaving as Syria continues to grapple with political upheaval, humanitarian crises and ongoing conflict.

UMIT BEKTAS/AFP via Getty Images

In first visit in 25 years, Syrian FM pushes sanctions relief in Washington

Asaad al-Shibani’s visit to Washington comes as Syria seeks sanctions relief and engages in US-mediated talks with Israel on a security agreement.

Latest News

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Top US general discusses SDF integration with Sharaa in Damascus

CENTCOM

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

LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images

US lawmakers push sanctions for Syria's Tadamon massacre

Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) called on the Biden administration to sanction four Syrians linked to the 2013 murder of 41 unarmed civilians.

Syrian Kurdish and Arab families are pictured fleeing in the countryside of the town of Darbasiyah.

Clashes turn tribal between Turkish-backed opposition factions

The Turkish-backed opposition factions are trying to portray their conflicts as tribal in a bid to absolve themselves of the violations committed in the area.

In this photo illustration taken on April 21, 2022, the icon of a video-sharing mobile phone application TikTok is pictured on a mobile phone.

Turkish-backed Syrian factions target TikTok influencers in Aleppo

TikTok content creators in the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib face a spate of arrests over accusations of corrupting the public morality of the local Syrian community.

A Turkish-backed Syrian fighter of the Sultan Murad Turkoman brigade.

Syrians north of Aleppo prepare for Turkish military operation

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s pledge to carry out a new military operation on Turkey’s southern border sparked speculations as to the possible targets, which could include towns such as Tel Rifaat, Manbij and Kobani.

Members of the Syrian army deploy in the al-Rashidin 1 district, in Aleppo's southwestern countryside, on Feb. 16, 2020.

Release of Syrian soldier accused or war crimes stirs protests

Protesters rallied in the city of al-Bab, which is controlled by factions allied with Turkey, demanding an investigation into the release by the opposition-affiliated military police of a soldier accused of murder and rape.

An aerial view shows Syrians sitting amidst the damaged buildings to break fast during an iftar gathering in Tadef.

Syrians reject trench dug by Turkish army near Aleppo

The residents of Tadef in the Aleppo countryside are rejecting a military trench being dug by the Turkish army that would cross through their city, calling on changing its course and retaking control of the areas held by the Syrian government forces inside the city.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (L) and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (2R).

Turkey threatens new Syria incursion amid NATO debate

Erdogan ups the ante as NATO allies offer cool response to Ankara’s demands over Sweden, Finland membership.

This aerial view shows tents covered in snow at a camp for internally displaced Syrians, near the town of Kafr Lusin, as a snow storm hit the region, at the border with Turkey in the rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib, March 13, 2022.

Climate change makes life harder for displaced Syrians

The extreme weather conditions caused by climate change have been particularly felt by the displaced living in camps across northwestern Syria, where NGOs are struggling to meet all of their needs.

Displaced Syrian orphans receive food aid at their school in the El Ardiye Orphanage camp run by the Turkish Red Crescent on the outskirts of Idlib, on Nov. 26, 2021 in Sarmada district, Idlib Province, Syria.

Syrians sponsor abandoned children

Amid the rising number of abandoned children due to the deteriorating economic conditions in northern Syria, one organization seeks to care for them and secure them a family that would cater to their needs.

Syria attack

Pentagon inquiry finds no fault in 2019 Syria strike that killed civilians

Internal investigation blamed Syrian Kurdish forces for failing to mention the presence of civilians when calling in US airstrike.

Syrians coming from Turkey go through the Bab al-Salame crossing in the border town of Azaz, to spend the last days of Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr holiday with family in Syria, in Aleppo province, Syria, April 18, 2022.

Turkish-backed forces meet with rival HTS in north Syria

Extensive meetings were held in the past days between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls Idlib, and the Levant Front, one of the most prominent and strongest groups of the Syrian National Army, in a bid to reach a compromise between the two sides.

Syrian rebel fighters man anti-aircraft guns.

Syrians dodge military conscription

Syrian military-age men are fleeing conscription, forcing them to defer their future or pay back the government.