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Syria

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Syria. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Damascus

Head of State

President Bashar al-Assad

Head of Government

Prime Minister Hussein Arnous

last updated:

29 November, 2024

Mass gravesites found across Syria

Victims were allegedly tortured and killed by the now-overthrown Assad government

2 hours ago

Middle East

Mass graves in Syria reveal horrifying state-run ‘machinery of death’

2 hours agovideocam

Middle East

Israel plans an extended occupation of Syrian buffer zone

36 minutes ago

Middle East

The groups vying for control in Syria

The most powerful group in Syria that spearheaded the rebels' advance is the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham

17 Dec 2024 - 8:00PM

08:01

Middle East

Syria’s Golani says rebel factions will be ‘disbanded’, fighters to join army

HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani says ‘Syria must remain united’ following Assad’s ouster.

17 Dec 2024 - 7:40PMvideocam

Middle East

At least 100,000 bodies in Syria mass grave, US advocacy group says

Victims were people tortured and killed by the now-overthrown Assad government.

17 Dec 2024 - 1:31PMvideocam

Israel-Gaza war

Israeli team in Qatar for talks on potential Gaza ceasefire deal, official says

Israel’s defence minister says have ‘not been this close to a deal’ on hostages in Gaza.

17 Dec 2024 - 10:56AM

The silhouettes of a military vehicle and a soldier are seen near the Gaza border. Photo: Reuters

United States

No US government group in Syria to search for journalist Austin Tice

US not ruling out sending people to Damascus to find the missing journalist, who was captured in 2012.

17 Dec 2024 - 3:41PMvideocam

Middle East

Syria’s ousted leader Assad says he wanted to keep fighting but Russians evacuated him

Syria’s Bashar al-Assad issued his first statement since being toppled from power.

17 Dec 2024 - 12:17PMvideocam

A glimpse into Assad’s private life in Syria

Neighbours of the ousted leader have opened up about difficulties living next to the Assad family

16 Dec 2024 - 5:00PM

02:21

Middle East

Nations work to build ties with Syria’s post-Assad rulers

Qatar and Turkey reopen embassies and Western powers engage with rebel group as Russia withdraws some diplomatic staff.

16 Dec 2024 - 4:08PM

Damascus University students pull a toppled statue of the late Syria’s President Hafez al-Assad, father of Bashar al-Assad. Photo: Reuters

Middle East

Life of Syria’s Assad revealed in private photos found in abandoned mansions

Candid photos reveal a stark contrast to the ousted Syrian leader’s public image.

16 Dec 2024 - 6:26PMvideocam

Middle East

Syria rebel leader meets with visiting UN envoy

Pair discussed need to focus on Syrian territorial unity, reconstruction and achieving economic development, rebel statement says.

16 Dec 2024 - 10:32AM

Britain

UK says it will provide US$63 million in humanitarian aid for Syrians

Foreign Minister David Lammy said Britain will also work ‘diplomatically to help secure better governance in Syria’s future’.

16 Dec 2024 - 6:11AM

Displaced families collect aid provided by the United Nations at a refugee camp in the town of Al-Bardaqli, northern Syria. On Sunday, the UK said it would release US$63 million in aid for the ‘most vulnerable’ Syrians and for those in need in neighbouring Lebanon and Jordan. Photo: EPA-EFE

Ukraine war

Ukraine’s Zelensky announces humanitarian aid for Syria

Ukrainian president aims to supply food to Syria in the aftermath of the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

16 Dec 2024 - 4:31PMvideocam

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visiting troops on the southern front line in the Zaporizhzhia region. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via AFP

Middle East

Israel plans to double population on occupied Golan Heights, citing threats from Syria

Israel captured most of the strategic plateau from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, annexing it in 1981.

16 Dec 2024 - 11:13AM

Middle East

Turkey will offer military training to Syria if new administration requests

Nato member Turkey backed the Syrian rebels who toppled President Bashar al-Assad last weekend, ending a 13-year civil war.

15 Dec 2024 - 5:48PM

Middle East

Opinion | How Syria’s new chapter changes the game for the entire region

After Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow, uncertainties remain about the agenda of Syria’s new government and the interests of foreign powers.

15 Dec 2024 - 9:20AMvideocam

Smoke billows in the distance as people arrive to celebrate the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, on December 8. Photo: AP

Middle East

US, regional diplomats discuss Syria’s future, Arabs seek assurances from Turkey

Top diplomats from the US, EU, and Arab nations met in Jordan for talks on Syria as regional and global powers scramble for influence.

14 Dec 2024 - 10:50PM

Syrian conflict

Torture, murders, rapes: inside Syria’s ‘human slaughterhouse’ Saydnaya jail

Rebels freed more than 4,000 inmates from the notorious prison dubbed ‘human abattoir’, revealing the horrors within its walls.

14 Dec 2024 - 12:35PMvideocam

Middle East

‘Friday of victory’: mass rallies across Syria celebrate fall of Assad

Fireworks and waving flags mark the first Friday prayers since a lightning rebel offensive ended over half a century of brutal rule.

14 Dec 2024 - 6:14AMvideocam

People gather with independence-era Syrian flags to celebrate the fall of Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad at the Umayyad Square in central Damascus on Friday. Photo: AFP

American pilgrim imprisoned in Syria for 7 months freed

Travis Timmerman entered Syria illegally from the eastern Lebanese town of Zahle on what he called a Christian pilgrimage 7 months ago

13 Dec 2024 - 6:24PM

02:06

Middle East

Russia aims to secure deal with new Syria leaders to keep vital military bases

Talks are taking place for Russia to maintain a military presence in Syria after the overthrow of Kremlin ally Assad.

13 Dec 2024 - 1:56PM

Middle East

Syrian rebels expose ousted Assad regime’s drug trade, fuelled by Captagon

Syria was the world’s leading trafficker of Captagon, a highly addictive amphetamine, during the country’s long war.

13 Dec 2024 - 12:55PM

Middle East

Syria’s rebel leader vows to dissolve Assad security forces, close prisons

The world is watching to see if Syria’s new rulers can stabilise the country and avoid unleashing violent revenge.

12 Dec 2024 - 5:09PMvideocam

A woman holding a rifle borrowed from a Syrian opposition fighter poses for a picture, next to a government forces tank in Damascus, Syria. Photo: AP

Inside Syria’s most notorious prison

One of the most potent symbols of Assad’s brutal regime was the Sednaya prison, which Syrians called a “human slaughterhouse"

12 Dec 2024 - 11:27AM

03:45

War and conflict

Opinion | World watches and waits as Islamist group HTS leads a post-Assad Syria

From Russia and the Middle East to the EU and US, the rise of Islamist group HTS is cause for caution over optimism.

12 Dec 2024 - 1:07AMvideocam

Middle East

Syria’s infamous Sednaya prison was a ‘slaughterhouse’, ex-inmates say

Now the Assad dynasty has been toppled, its dungeons and torture chambers are giving up their secrets.

12 Dec 2024 - 11:33AMvideocam

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