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

Syria cover image

Syria

September 12, 2024

Damascus 9:52 pm

28°C

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz addresses media after a visit at the site of a knife attack in Solingen, Western Germany, on August 26, 2024.

Analysis

What’s behind the flurry of ISIS attacks in Europe?

ISIS’ network in Europe includes an older generation of fighters who have returned from Iraq and Syria, as well as younger, self-radicalized ones that are harder to contain, said one expert.

Adam Lucente

Rosaleen Carroll

By Adam Lucente , Rosaleen Carroll

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Russia ups mediation efforts between Turkey, Syria as Assad drags feet

While Turkey is embracing Russia's role in attempting to mediate between Ankara and Damascus, the Syrian government wants a timetable for Turkey withdrawing its troops from the country.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

PKK tunnel

Exclusive

From mountaintops to underground: PKK responds to Turkey’s drones

Serdar Yektas, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Workers Party's armed wing, told Al-Monitor that Turkey’s use of its home-manufactured drones has drastically changed the nature of the conflict between them.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images

Iran says IRGC member killed in coalition strike in Syria

Iranian news outlets blamed the IRGC member’s death on “coalition forces,” but did not offer further details.

Latest News

Turkey’s defense chief: Syria wants timetable for troop withdrawal to resume talks

This combination of file photographs created on July 7, 2024, shows Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) in Ankara on May 29, 2023, and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on July 16, 2023.

Clashes between Arab tribes, SDF forces in Syria pose challenge to US

Fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) gather near a US Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) during a joint military exercise with forces of the US-led "Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve" coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group in the countryside of the town of al-Malikiya (Derik in Kurdish) in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on Sept. 7, 2022.

Sign up to our Daily Briefing

Keep up with Al-Monitor's top stories with a morning digest from across the region.

Al-Monitor newsletter collage

Turkey says PKK attack kills Turkish soldier in northern Iraq

This picture taken on April 25, 2023, shows a shrapnel-pocked walled in the village of Hiror near the Turkish border in northern Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.

Strikes in south Lebanon, Syria as Israel's northern front heats up

Smoke billows from a site targeted by the Israeli military in the southern Lebanese border village of Kafr Kila, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters, July 29, 2024.

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Lyse Mauvais

In Amman, reporting on humanitarian crises

NICOSIA, CYPRUS - JULY 20: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Turkey's invasion of Cyprus on July 20, 2024 in occupied northern Nicosia, Cyprus. Fifty years has passed since Turkey's invasion and occupation of northern Cyprus, spurred in 1974 by Greece's attempts to oust the Cypriot president and forge a political union with the island. Over time, the northern part became the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is largely populated

Analysis

As Assad softens tone, can Turkey and Syria normalize relations?

As news of normalization between Turkey and Syria and a meeting between the Turkish president and his Syrian counterpart abound, many strategic and technical questions need to be addressed.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

Italy appoints ambassador to Syria in latest sign of European thaw

Syria’s relations with the international community are gradually improving amid the ongoing civil war.

MAXIM SHEMETOV/AFP via Getty Images

Russia, Turkey FMs meet in Laos, discuss Syria reconciliation efforts

The two top diplomats’ talks come after the Russian and Syrian presidents discussed the Turkish president’s invitation to hold a three-country leaders' summit with his Syrian counterpart after more than a decade of hostilities.

VALERY SHARIFULIN/AFP via Getty Images

Syria’s Assad meets Putin in Russia amid Turkey dialogue push

Russia has been the main backer of President Bashar al-Assad’s forces against rebels throughout the Syrian civil war.

An undated image of Baraa al-Qaterji (L) with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

Syrian businessman with ties to Assad killed in suspected Israeli airstrike

If confirmed, the strike would be a bold step for Israel's clandestine operations in Syria, taking out an Assad regime insider from a family that has long brokered oil shipments, arms deals and illicit financing across the civil war's front lines.

Syrians attend the burial of a man killed during clashes with Turkish troops, in Afrin in northern Syria on July 2, 2024.

Syrians in Turkey change attire, avoid cars after mob attacks

Mob attacks on Syrians in Turkey are forcing Syrians to make themselves invisible.

A composite image of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan (L) and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Iraq aims to host first meeting between Turkey's Erdogan, Syria's Assad

Baghdad is throwing its hat into the ring in hopes of brokering a historic restoration of ties between Turkey and the Bashar al-Assad regime in Damascus, as Syria's neighbors hope to return refugees back to the war-wracked country.

This combination of file photographs created on July 7, 2024, shows Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) in Ankara on May 29, 2023, and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on July 16, 2023.

Analysis

As Erdogan woos Assad, is Turkey-Syria reconciliation rhetoric or reality?

While the Turkish president has signaled he’s open to mending fences with his Syrian counterpart, the path to reconciliation is full of pitfalls.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets Syrian President Bashar Assad during the Arab summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday. Saudi Press Agency / Saudi Press Agency via AP

Saudi Arabia and Syria resume regular flights as thaw with Assad advances

The move signals a new step toward further developing the relations between the two countries.

The Euphrates river near Dura Europos (Tell Salhiye), Syria. Iraq is just several miles downstream.

In managing water crisis, can Turkey and Iraq bridge gap without Syria?

Turkey and Iraq need to bring Syria into the fold to resettle the historical water sharing problems between the three countries, according to experts and officials.

Luna al-Shibl in an undated photo.

Who was Luna al-Shibl, adviser to Syria's Assad who died in car crash?

Shibl, a former Al Jazeera journalist, was a key adviser to Assad who accompanied the Syrian president on international trips including China.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad during their meeting in Sochi on May 17, 2018.

Erdogan open to hosting Assad, Putin as Syria-Turkey channels widen

The remarks came as both Erdogan and Assad raised the possibility of resuming dialogue between Ankara and Damascus.