Syria appoints new parliament as Israel tensions continue
On July 1, Syria’s government said that the country’s Higher Committee for People’s Assembly Elections had announced the final list of names for the country’s new parliament. The...
Raqqa
Syria holds elections in Kurdish-majority areas, finds Assad-era chemical weapons
Syria held elections in Kurdish-majority areas of the country on May 24, with some politicians and commentators criticizing them for not being representative. Days after the local elections,...
Op-eds
Political Exclusion of Syrian Kurds Threatens SDF-Damascus Deal
A dispute over Kurdish political representation and cultural rights is emerging as the primary fault line in the Syrian government’s process of integration with the Kurdish-run semi-autonomous region...
Policy Briefs
Turkey, The Kurds, And The U.S.: The SDF Partnership Hits a Strategic Wall
Masoud Barzani’s February 6 meeting with SDF commander Mazloum Abdi spotlights a decade of U.S. partnering that helped defeat ISIS in eastern Syria, but never produced a political endgame. After holding territory east of the Euphrates, the SDF suffered setbacks in mid-January clashes and then reached a January 30 understanding that allows Damascus to expand security control in remaining SDF areas. Some fighters could be absorbed into Syria’s army, while U.S. forces weigh next steps for ISIS detainee operations and their remaining footprint.
Op-eds
After Damascus-SDF deal, Syrian security forces deploy in northeastern Syria
Syrian government forces began deploying to cities in northeastern Syria after an agreement between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the interim government on January 30. Syrian...
Op-eds
Over the Barrel of a Gun: Syria’s Deal With the SDF
“Our Kurdish people, descendants of Saladin, beware of believing claims that we seek harm against you,” Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa said in a televised address on January 16 to Syria’s...
Op-eds
Syrian Offensive Against Kurdish-Led SDF Risks Escape of ISIS Prisoners
The ongoing conflict between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) risks unleashing tens of thousands of ISIS-linked detainees, reviving a threat that the United States and the SDF...
Policy Briefs
Fate of prisons holding Islamic State fighters uncertain as Syrian government fights Syrian Democratic Forces
Syrian government forces advancing into eastern Syria and combating the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are increasingly taking over areas where Islamic State (IS) members have been held in prisons and...
Op-eds
Syria Risks a New War as Damascus Moves Against the Kurdish-Led SDF
War looms amid intensifying clashes between government troops and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the country’s second-largest city, Aleppo. On January 7, Syrian army units encircled...
Policy Briefs
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
US highlights anti-Islamic State operations after soldiers killed in Syria
On December 17, US Central Command (CENTCOM) provided new information on operations against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria. “US and partner forces in Syria have conducted nearly 80 operations since...
Op-eds
Clashes erupt between Syrian government troops and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces
On November 19, the government-controlled Syrian army and the predominantly Kurdish, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) battled in the area of Maadan, east of Raqqa. According to Syrian...
Op-eds
Syrian Government Condemns Israeli Prime Minister’s Visit to Troops in Southern Syria
Latest Developments ‘Violation of Sovereignty and Unity’: The Syrian government strongly condemned a November 19 visit to Israeli-controlled Syrian territory by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin...
Flash Briefs
New Syrian Parliament Takes Shape as Local Bodies Appoint Legislators Under Post-Assad Interim Constitution
Syria Announces First Results: The Syrian authorities announced preliminary results of the first parliamentary selection process since the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad’s...
Flash Briefs
Turkey’s Quiet Relationship with ISIS
On June 29, 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State in al-Sham (ISIS), was recorded on video speaking at the al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul, Iraq. (“Al-Sham” is the traditional Arabic...
Op-eds
Sunni Arab tribes mobilize against the Syrian Democratic Forces
Several Sunni Arab tribes in northeastern Syria, an area that encompasses 30 percent of Syrian territory and is currently under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have called...
Op-eds
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
Clashes intensify between Arab Bedouin tribes and Druze militias in Suwayda, Syria
Tensions in the Syrian governorate of Suwayda continue to rise following clashes between government forces and Druze militias affiliated with prominent Druze leader Hikmat al Hijri between July 14 and...
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
Fierce clashes erupt between Assad loyalists and government forces in western Syria
On March 6, Syria witnessed the most intense and bloodiest clashes between the new Syrian government and loyalists to dictator Bashar al Assad since the Assad regime’s downfall on December 8. These battles...