Damascus

Foreign fighters pose integration challenge for Damascus - analysis

Syria’s new government is weighing containment, military incorporation, and security pressure as it seeks to dismantle independent armed networks.

Syrian Public Security Forces drive along a street as they enter the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria on February 3, 2026, under an integration deal with Kurdish authorities.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accompanied by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, meets with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Ankara, last April. Ankara is quietly assembling the architecture of permanent regional power, the writer says.

‘Grant me the governorship of Jerusalem’: Turkish Interior Minister prays for control of Israel

Children hold signs on the day Syrian Kurds demonstrate to mark Kurdish Language Day, demanding constitutional recognition of the Kurdish language by the Syrian government, in Qamishli, Syria, May 14, 2026.

Syria’s limited Kurdish election exposes limits of Damascus’s democratic transition - analysis

A member of the security personnel arrives at the scene near a burning vehicle following an explosion in Damascus on May 19, 2026.

WATCH: Car bomb explodes near Defense Ministry building in Damascus


Syrian President al-Sharaa positions country for regional role in Gulf, EU meetings

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the Gulf last week as part of his efforts to shore up support for Damascus across the Middle East and Europe amid rising regional tensions.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan meets with Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa on the sidelines of Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Turkey, April 17, 2026.

Syria accuses Hezbollah-linked cells of plotting attacks, signaling break from Assad-era alliance

Damascus is moving against networks it says planned assassinations, bombings, and rocket fire, raising new questions about sovereignty and power after Bashar Assad’s fall.

A worker tears down the pictures of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, Lebanon's late Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a gas station in Nubl, in rural Aleppo, Syria, December 11, 2024.

Main suspect in Syria's Tadamon massacre arrested, ministry says

Amjad Yousef was arrested in the Hama province in western Syria, where he had been hiding since the overthrow of Bashar Assad in 2024.

Amjad Yusuf, main suspect accused of the 2013 Tadamon massacre, April 24, 2026

Syria carrying out arrests of Palestinians linked to Assad regime, rights orgs. claim

The Action Group for Palestinians of Syria complained that at least 14 men were arrested from the Khan Al-Shih camp, Jaramana camp, the Rukn al-Din neighborhood, and the town of al-Hameh.

 Two girls walk next to the rubble of a destroyed house in the Yarmouk camp on September 14, 2025 in Damascus, Syria.

Syrian President al-Sharaa says he loves basketball but was distracted by war

It was a revival of international basketball competitions that had declined in recent years, both in their organization and their reach across Syrian provinces

 From the opening of the Al-Fayhaa Basketball Hall in Damascus.

After Syria trip, Dartmouth prof. hopes for academic relationship with Damascus University

Syria, especially Damascus and Aleppo, was home to Jewish communities for centuries, communities woven into the country’s social and cultural fabric.

The view of Damascus from Damascus University.

Damascus claims to arrest more Hezbollah-linked cell members behind plot to kill rabbi

Rabbi Michael Khoury was the reported target of an attack, state media said that the cell intended to target “a religious figure in the vicinity of the Maronite Church in Bab Touma on April 11."

Security forces guard a damaged bridge as people cross over the Euphrates River as Syrian army forces deploy in parts of the eastern province formerly controlled by Kurdish forces following their withdrawal from the area on January 22, 2026 in Deir ez-Zor, Syria.

Syrian authorities discover Hezbollah arms smuggling tunnel, warehouses near Lebanon border

Syrian authorities discover a Hezbollah tunnel linking Syria and Lebanon used for smuggling weapons, along with a large shipment of IED components destined for Lebanon.

 Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in front of the Syrian and Hezbollah flags (illustrative).

Kurds allegedly forced to register as Syrian Arabs to receive citizenship, NGO claims 

NSVH reported that the failure to provide an option to register as Kurdish, which was flagged during field monitoring, has raised serious concerns about Damascus’s compliance with the legislation.

Kurdish women dance hand in hand as the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) members celebrate Nowruz at the Jezhnikan Village around Baharka, Iraq, on March 18, 2025.

Zelensky’s Syria visit symbolizes new future for Middle East diplomacy - analysis

Ukrainian President Zelensky’s visit to Syria marks a symbolic step toward a peaceful future, fostering cooperation between Syria, Turkey, and Ukraine despite regional conflicts.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) in Damascus, April 5, 2026.