Russian troops begin evacuating from northern Syria
Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa made his second visit to Moscow in four months on January 28, even as Russia is withdrawing its forces from the city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria. Moscow...
Deir ez-Zor
US launches widespread airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria after deadly Palmyra attack
On December 19, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that “U.S. forces have commenced a large-scale strike against [Islamic State] ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites in Syria.”...
Op-eds
Syrian integration in focus as Syrian President Sharaa speaks at UN
On September 24, Syrian interim President Ahmed al Sharaa addressed the UN General Assembly and spoke about the country’s attempt to rebuild itself after years of conflict. “Syria...
Op-eds
Can Syria’s New Leaders and U.S.-Backed Forces Unite to Defeat ISIS?
US Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led a delegation to Syria that met with Syria’s transitional President, Ahmed al-Shara’a, on...
Op-eds
Turkey’s Push for Regime Change in Syria: The Jihadi Highway
Syria’s civil war broke out in March 2011, in reaction to the brutal crackdown by the regime of Bashar al-Asad of popular protests that were part of the wider Arab Spring. In supporting the Syrian...
Op-eds
Violence Resurges in Syria After Armed Groups, Kurdish-Led SDF, Clash With Government Forces
SDF Clashes With Troops: The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) claimed on August 4 to have repelled an “attack” by “factions affiliated with the Syrian Transitional...
Flash Briefs
Syrian Druze are not entitled to self-determination, and Kurds cannot yet pursue secession
Syria is a patchwork of identities, par for the course in a region where novel nationalities vie with tribe and religion for the citizenry’s loyalty. For most of the country’s history, the Assad family...
Op-eds
Islamic State Resurfaces in Damascus With Deadly Bombing
The Islamic State (IS) has returned to the spotlight in Damascus. According to the Syrian Ministry of Interior, the group conducted a suicide bombing on June 22 at a Greek Orthodox church in the Syrian...
Policy Briefs
US strike in northwestern Syria kills Islamic State’s external attack planner
The US military killed an Islamic State (IS) commander in an airstrike in northwestern Syria on June 10. The commander, who was identified as Rakhim Boev, was involved in planning attacks against the US...
Op-eds
Trump Tells Syria to Expel Foreign Fighters, But Sharaa Gives Them Army Divisions
“Tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria,” President Donald Trump told interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa in Riyadh on May 14 — just after lifting all U.S. sanctions on Syria. Yet on May 18, Syria’s...
Policy Briefs
Kurdish-Led Syrian Democratic Forces Battle Turkish Proxies Amid Calls for Their Dissolution
Battles Near Tishreen Dam Continue: Heavy fighting between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) around the Tishreen...
Flash Briefs
U.S. continues to target the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria
The US launched a series of strikes against the Islamic State’s (IS) network in Iraq and Syria over the past week. The operations are part of the US military’s continuing effort to degrade the Islamic...
Op-eds
Profiles of the new Syrian military leadership, part 2
Beginning on Friday, January 3, the newly appointed minister of defense of the Syrian Interim Government, Murhef Abu Qasra, initiated a series of meetings with leaders of armed factions to discuss integrating...
Op-eds
Pro-Iran militias in Iraq may move away from Syria border
The point of the report is that the Iraqis want to show that the militias who played a role in Syria will now not just be in Iraq, but will be moved away from the border.
Op-eds
Israel’s Bashan Arrow operation in Syria continues
As the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad was collapsing on December 8, Israel set in motion a contingency plan that anticipated the situation. In recent weeks, the military intelligence...
Op-eds
US military strikes Islamic State camps and personnel in central Syria
On December 16, the US military launched a second round of strikes against Islamic State personnel and infrastructure in Syria since the fall of the regime of Bashir al Assad on December 8. US operations...
Op-eds
Southern Syria groups overthrew Assad and control areas near the Golan
An exclusive look at the Southern Syria former rebels who were key to defeating Assad and who met with Syrian leader Julani on December 11.
Op-eds
Israel Secures its interests in Syria
Bashar al Assad’s regime fell in the early morning of December 8, withering away in the face of a mere 11-day onslaught by a coalition of opposition armed groups. Israel found itself caught off-guard by...
Op-eds
Could the unrest in Syria spillover into Iraq? Iran seems to think so
Iran believes that Iraq is in danger - this means that Iran is worried militias it backs in Iraq could lose influence.
Op-eds
US forces in Syria at frontline of Iran, regime threats
This appears to be a show of force from the US to show the regime and militias not to get any ideas amid the chaos in Syria.