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.

|ByRIZIK ALABI/THE MEDIA LINE
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

Referring to the fall of the Assad regime, the interior minister said he hoped he would see Jerusalem “liberated” in the same way Damascus was, and that one day “those lands will be ours once again."

|ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
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

Syria had already held types of limited elections in other areas of Syria last year. However, areas outside government control did not hold a vote.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
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

Syria’s health ministry said emergency and ambulance teams had responded to the explosion, which killed one soldier and wounded around 12 people.

|ByREUTERS

Kurdish families return to Afrin, Syria after years of displacement

After the invasion, around 150,000 Kurds were forced to flee. The Syrian rebel groups included extremists and they were involved in abuses, including the kidnapping of Kurdish civilians.

MAY 19, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A woman with braided hair during a solidarity demonstration in Erbil, Iraq's Kurdish region, on January 23, 2026. The symbolic gesture supports Kurdish female fighters in Syria following a viral video of a Syrian soldier bragging about cutting a fighter's braid.

Who gets to belong? Palestinians in Syria confront old suspicions under new rule

Arrests, media attacks, and changes in official terminology have deepened anxiety among Palestinian refugees over their legal status and place in Syrian society.

MAY 13, 2026ByWASEEM ABU MAHADI/THE MEDIA LINE
PROTESTERS GATHER outside the entrance of Yarmouk refugee camp to condemn the Israeli death penalty law for Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks, in Damascus, Syria, April 1, 2026.

UAE deepens economic ties with Damascus, eyes major investment in Syria's postwar reconstruction

The UAE is looking to increase its role in Syria via investment while taking a cautious approach. Key talks discussed expanding economic and investment cooperation during a two-day forum in Damascus.

MAY 13, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Direction and distance sign for the Syrian capital of Damascus at Mount Bental Israeli military outpost on the Syrian border

Syria appoints new cabinet as government settles into power

The reshuffle, announced by Syrian state media, included the appointment of new governors for several key provinces.

MAY 10, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa looks on as he arrives for a working session of the European Council and regional partners during an informal meeting in Nicosia on April 24, 2026.

ISIS disrupts Damascus calm, says it assassinated Shi'ite figure

The attack, which took place on May 1, 2026, revived memories of the group’s past hit-and-run operations targeting carefully selected religious and military figures.

MAY 10, 2026ByRIZIK ALABI/THE MEDIA LINE
FARHAN Hassan al-Mansour.

Syria’s crackdown on Hezbollah shows Damascus's commitment to security - analysis

Hezbollah entered Syria in large numbers around 2012-2013 via the city of Qusayr, with its role in Syria diminishing since the fall of the Assad regime.

MAY 6, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A Syrian army soldier stands guard next to an armoured vehicle positioned along the SyrianLebanese border in the rural area of Al Qusayr on April 1, 2026.

Syria thwarts Hezbollah-affiliated plot to assassinate gov’t officials, Interior Ministry announces

Hezbollah put out a statement denying the “false accusations” that it was behind the cell, asserting it had no presence on Syrian territory.

MAY 6, 2026ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
Syrian police vehicles drive along a road in the town of Dayr Hafir east of Aleppo, Syria, on January 17, 2026.

Does Syria’s rise in the Press Freedom Index reflect reality? - analysis

Syria climbed 36 places in the 2026 Reporters Without Borders ranking, but deep constraints on independent journalism remain.

MAY 6, 2026ByRIZIK ALABI / THE MEDIA LINE
A journalist wearing a press vest holds his camera during a protest in Idlib, Syria on August 11, 2025.

Syrian pilot confessions reveal centralized bombing orders during war

One pilot, who had held senior leadership positions, noted that certain officers were granted special trust by the leadership and were assigned intensive bombing missions.

APRIL 30, 2026ByRIZIK ALABI/THE MEDIA LINE
ABANDONED MILITARY jets are seen at the Aleppo airport on December 14, 2024 in Aleppo, Syria. Aleppo was the first major city to fall in last week's lightning offensive by rebel forces as they toppled Syria's Assad regime.

Syria opens first public trial of former Assad regime official Atef Najib

Syria has opened its first public trial for a former Assad regime official, Atef Najib, marking a shift toward accountability. The trial focuses on crimes committed in Dara’a and Damascus.

APRIL 26, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Atef Najib, a brigadier general and former head of the Political Security Department in Daraa during Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad's rule, who is accused of committing war crimes, attends a trial session at the Palace of Justice, in Damascus, Syria, April 26, 2026.