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A U.S. Test for Ahmed al-Sharaa’s Government
The reduction in the number of U.S. troops in Syria constitutes a test of President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government’s ability to maintain security in the country and to handle several sensitive files, foremost among them the risk of a resurgence of the Islamic State group (ISIS). The first of these files concerns ISIS detainees held in…
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No Blank Check for Damascus
Will Washington ease sanctions on Syria’s new government? That question framed a hearing this week inside the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the congressional panel that oversees U.S. foreign policy. The message was direct: Sanctions relief is not normalization. It is leverage. A senior State Department official told Alhurra, the U.S.-funded Arabic-language network, “Sanctions relief is not normalization.…
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The Syria Test
The framework Congress is using to evaluate Syria’s transition. The six pillars in this graphic reflect the dominant themes emphasized in the recent congressional hearing, “Syria at a Crossroads: U.S. Policy Challenges Post-Assad.” Lawmakers focused on minority protection as the credibility test, conditional and reversible sanctions relief, counterterrorism vigilance amid ISIS risks, review of the…
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Saudi Investments in Syria: Financial and Political Stakes
Syria and Saudi Arabia on Feb. 7, 2026, formally opened a new chapter in their economic relations by signing a series of agreements described as laying the foundation for a long-term strategic partnership between the two countries. The agreements include establishing a joint airline, developing telecommunications infrastructure, building a new airport in northern Syria, and…
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The loud silence of Syria’s Christians
Since even before Syria’s longtime former leader Bashar al-Assad fled the country in December 2024, violent clashes between Druze factions and forces tied to the new government of President Ahmad al-Sharaa have killed as many as 2,000 people in the southern province of Sweida. Human rights activists have also reported widespread torture, rape, abductions and other abuses.…
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Arms Crossings Between Syria and Lebanon
From time to time, Syrian authorities announce the foiling of attempts to smuggle weapons shipments into Lebanon, the most recent of which occurred in the al-Brij area of Syria’s Qalamoun region. According to details of the incident, Syrian security forces intercepted, at the beginning of 2026, a large shipment of rifles, rocket launchers, and anti-armor…
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Syrians in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region: Safety until Further Notice
Anas — a pseudonym for a Syrian man in his late twenties — still recalls five days of anxiety he endured earlier this month after several Syrian refugees were dismissed from their jobs in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, amid fighting that erupted in Aleppo between Syrian government forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).…
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The Fate of ISIS Detainees Transferred to Iraq
In recent days, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) began taking a highly consequential step: evacuating thousands of Islamic State fighters from prisons in northeastern Syria and transferring them to Iraq. In exclusive statements to Alhurra, CENTCOM said the transfer of nearly 7,000 ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq would take only a few days. The move…
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Kobani Under Siege: Overcrowded Hospitals and Treatment Without Medicine
The Mishtanur Health Center in the heart of the predominantly Kurdish city of Kobani has received fatalities and dozens of wounded from shelling by factions linked to the Syrian government targeting villages and areas surrounding the city in northern Syria, Avin Khalil, a physician at the Mishtanur Health Center in Kobani, told Alhurra. Khalil said…
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Behind the Transfer of ISIS Detainees to Iraq
As northern Syria entered a new phase, the transfer of thousands of Islamic State detainees to Iraqi custody was seen as more than a logistical operation. Analysts said the move reflected shifting regional dynamics and exposed either a lack of confidence in Damascus’s emerging leadership or an effort to bolster its role in restoring security…