Syria

Lebanon detains Syrian who helped funnel funds to pro-Assad fighters, sources say

His arrest came nearly a month after top Syrian security officials asked Lebanon to track down and hand over more than 200 officers who fled there after Assad was overthrown.

|ByREUTERS, SETH J. FRANTZMAN
Syrian citizens celebrating fall of the Assad regime, staying on abandoned government army tank in Damascus, December 11, 2024.
Ayman Abu Hadir, assistant to the Foreign Minister, meets with Alawite leader Dr. Tamim Khromachou.

Only Israel condemned Sharaa’s massacres, Syrian Alawite leader to ‘Post’ - interview

Sectarian violence has plagued Syria long before Ahmed al-Sharaa’s Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, which splintered from al-Qaeda, took control of the country last year.

|ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
A Syrian citizen shows off a new banknote released and distributed by the Central Bank, in the capital Damascus on January 3, 2026.

Qatari company to acquire major stakes in Syrian banks, sources say

The move, which follows the lifting of US sanctions on Syria late last year, comes as the country's central bank tries to recapitalise a banking sector severely impaired by 14 years of war.

|ByREUTERS
A member of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands guard as Syrian Kurds attend a protest in solidarity with people in Sweida, on July 17, 2025.

Syria's Kurdish outreach masks plans for new offensive against SDF in Aleppo - analysis

Syria’s President Ahmad al-Sharaa “affirmed that the injustices witnessed in Syria during the decades of the deposed regime’s rule affected all segments of the Syrian population without exception.”

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

After Kurdish forces were expelled from Aleppo, Kurds fear new Syrian offensive - analysis

There are also concerns about how detainees are being treated by the Syrian authorities and about the desecration of the bodies of the fallen.

JANUARY 14, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
A Kurdish internal security forces member stands guard with a weapon as Syrian Kurds attend a protest in solidarity with the people in the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh in Aleppo, in Hasakah, Syria January 7, 2026.

Aleppo’s forgotten victims: How the West abandoned the Kurds in their time of need - opinion

If humanity is truly to be a shared value, then pain must also be shared. Why do the same eyes that shed tears for Gaza not weep for Aleppo?

JANUARY 14, 2026ByAMED MARDIN
A solidarity protest organized denouncing attacks on Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo, with demonstrators holding Kurdish flags and placards reading Stop the genocide of Kurds in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, takes place in, Athens, Greece, on January 11, 2026.

How Turkey’s dangerous course in the Middle East fuels massacres - opinion

Ankara has created, sustained, and directed a well-established network of Islamist proxies.

JANUARY 14, 2026ByVEYSI DAG
Members of the Kurdish forces hold a portrait of Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler which reads "Shame on the killers of innocents in the Sheikh Maqsud neighborhood" during a protest in the Kurdish-controlled northeastern city of Qamishli on January 13, 2026.

Thousands protest in northeast Syria over expulsion of Kurdish fighters from Aleppo

Five days of fighting last week left at least 23 people dead, according to Syria's health ministry, and saw more than 150,000 flee the two Kurdish-run pockets of the city.

JANUARY 14, 2026ByREUTERS
Members of the Syrian Civil Defence work to extinguish a fire after shelling amid renewed clashes between the Syrian army and the Syrian Democratic Forces in Aleppo, Syria, January 8, 2026.

Sharaa regime credited with disrupting Assad-era Captagon empire in major drug bust

The Syrian Interior Ministry claimed to have thwarted an attempt to smuggle nearly 650,000 Captagon pills and other drugs from Lebanon, though no arrests were announced.

JANUARY 13, 2026ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
The Syrian anti-narcotics unit allegedly thwarted a large-scale drug smuggling attempt from Lebanese territory, but alleged the suspects were able to escape arrest by retreating into Lebanon.

Israel stands with Kurds as Aleppo burns and the world stays silent - opinion

While Aleppo’s Kurds endure siege, shelling, and mass displacement, Israel’s Gideon Sa’ar emerges as one of the few leaders openly condemning the atrocities.

JANUARY 13, 2026BySUZAN QUITAZ
A member of the Syrian army walks with a weapon in the street as civilians flee following renewed clashes between the Syrian army and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in Aleppo, Syria, January 7, 2026

After failed truces in Syria, will the newest ceasefire in Aleppo last? - analysis

Amid ongoing clashes with the SDF, Syrian government forces announced a suspension of military operations in Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsood, though tensions remain high.

JANUARY 12, 2026ByRIZIK ALABI/THE MEDIA LINE
Entrance to the Ashrafieh neighborhood in Aleppo.

Iranian unrest could make it harder for regime to fire missiles at Israel, ex-Navy chief says

“It is possible that the current regime falls and is replaced by one led by the Revolutionary Guards,” he said.

JANUARY 11, 2026By103FM
Illustrative image of former commander of the Israeli Navy, V.-Adm. (res.) Eliezer Marom.

Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods fall, and Syria’s minority question resurfaces - analysis

Clashes grew in the first days of January 2026, and now Syrian security forces have taken over most of the Kurdish neighborhoods, causing many Kurds to flee and also leading to abuses against Kurds.

JANUARY 11, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Security forces affiliated with the Ministry of the Interior stand guard in the Ashrafieh neighbourhood, which they have taken control of, according to the Interior Ministry, following battles with the Syrian Democratic Forces, in Aleppo, Syria, January 9, 2026.

PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Marco Rubio discuss possible US intervention in Iran amid protests - report

Israel is on high alert for the possibility of any US intervention in Iran as authorities there confront the biggest anti-government protests in years.

JANUARY 11, 2026ByREUTERS, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Syrian Democratic Forces leave Aleppo, announce understanding for ceasefire

Mazloum Abdi, head of the SDF, said that the group had reached an understanding for a ceasefire, in order to allow for the evacuation of trapped civilians and fighters from Aleppo.

JANUARY 11, 2026ByREUTERS
PEOPLE CELEBRATE in Sheikh Maksoud neighbourhood following the collapse of an agreement between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in Aleppo, Syria, January 10, 2026.