When conservative German politician Jens Spahn urges Syrian refugees to return home out of “patriotic duty,” his words reveal more about Germany’s politics than about the Syrians themselves.
country: Syria
Stay updated with comprehensive news on Syria from Worldcrunch. Discover insights on Syrian politics, economic strategies, societal issues, and cultural landmarks with translations from top international sources. Highlights include Damascus, Syrian history, and cultural events.
Ahmed al-Sharaa is the first Syrian president to make an official visit to the United States, but more importantly, he is the first former member of Al Qaeda to enter the White House. It marks Donald Trump’s bold bet on the Saudi-led Sunni consolidation in the Middle East.
She’s an accused jihadist originally from Brittany who spent 10 years in Syria, including five as a prisoner. French prosecutors say König acted as a social media recruiter of sorts for ISIS.
Since the Assad regime fell in December 2025, Europe’s 1.4 million Syrian refugees have been navigating the legal, emotional and security challenges of going back to a country they thought they may never see again.
Sham Wings Airlines, long sanctioned for its ties to the Syrian regime, has reemerged under a new name: Fly Cham. Despite the rebranding and change in ownership on paper, investigative findings reveal the same personnel, aircraft, and operations — raising serious questions about sanctions evasion.
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, the language of authority has changed in Syria. Yet these new titles (“Emir,” “Branch Emir” or “Sheikh of the group”) do little for the core demands for which Syrians rose up: freedom, dignity and justice.
In Frankfurt, a recent trial opened the door to holding accountable those who thought themselves safe from the law by sneaking out of Syria. Meanwhile, back in Damascus, justice that is geographically closer to the crimes seems impossible to hope for.
With Israel and Iran’s shadow war spilling into Syria, the new government in Damascus has warned that “foreign actors” aim to plunge the country into a cycle of instability and chaos.
Citing the costly or disastrous cases of Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya as warnings to the West to steer clear of regime change in Iran is mistaken and cynical. If transitions failed before, it was for a lack of planning and vision, not because toppling tyrants is a bad idea.
Even before last Sunday’s suicide bombing of a Damascus church, many Syrian Christians harbored doubts if the government that overthrew the Assad regime would protect them. Amid this growing sense of isolation, the question remains open: Is there truly a place for everyone in Syria?
For nearly a century, the West has approached the Middle East with strategic interests — but little genuine understanding. From coups to regime changes to failed red lines, each intervention has produced unintended consequences. Maybe it’s time we admit: the problem isn’t the region. It’s us.
As Israel and Iran trade missile strikes, people of the Middle East are divided between cheering and gloating in a conflict of axes fighting over the ruin of the region. We must return the debate to its root: Who represents the peoples of this region? Who defends their right to freedom, not to arms?
Sources say Hezbollah is in such dire financial shape, as Israel and Lebanon are successfully cutting off funding from Iran, it puts the organization at existential risk.
The meeting between Trump and Sharaa marked a pivotal moment not only for Syria but for the broader U.S. worldview. But the future of Syria is still very much up for grabs, as events since the historic handshake are already showing.
Donald Trump surprised everyone by meeting Ahmed al-Sharaa, the Syrian president, a former jihadist. It’s all about Trump’s gut and what Saudi Crown Prince MBS has planned for the region’s future.
The video circulating of the Syrian leader’s basketball spectacle coincides with a bloody spectacle carried out by the Sunni factions against the Alawite and Druze Syrians.
Israel is brutally asserting its plans to reoccupy Gaza and the “voluntary” expulsion of its inhabitants. France is attempting to make a modest counterpoint, in part by receiving Ahmed al-Sharaa the president of the Syrian transition.
Israel is calling up tens of thousands of reservists as its military operations threaten to expand in Gaza and grow more significant in Syria. This escalation raises serious questions about the goals behind what has become one of the longest wars in the country’s history.
Just weeks after the massacres targeting the Alawite community, Druze populations are now being attacked by armed groups — threatening the fragile stability of Syria’s post-Assad transition.
The various forms of death Syrians have endured in recent years have not led traditional segments of society to reconsider the idea of “cleansing dishonor.” Instead, technology has been used to reinforce it — with perpetrators recording these acts on mobile phones, proudly broadcasting their violence for all to see. While some viewers watch in sorrow, others look on with disturbing pride or morbid curiosity.
There is no economic logic in closing the lottery, especially in the current situation where the Syrian state needs every source of money. Islamic tenets against games of chance almost certainly explain the closure.
Journalists Daham Al-Assad and Guillaume Perrier visited French jihadist Omar Diaby, also known as “Omsen,” in Harem, Syria, where he resides with a small community of foreign-born jihadists (muhajireen), and condemns the action of Syria’s current leader who broke with his radical roots.
While Tehran has denied any involvement in Syria, elements affiliated with the ousted Assad regime in Syria say Iran is helping their fight to topple the government of President Ahmad al-Sharaa.
We had believed that Bashar al-Assad’s downfall would be a chance to come together and heal the wounds of the victims’ families. It was not to be. The regime had left roots too deep and the new rulers failed to learn the lessons of our neighbors.
After an attack on soldiers by supporters of the former Assad regime, a wave of violence has left more than 1,300 dead in the Alawite region, the Assad stronghold. The transitional president is calling for unity, but he must reassure minorities and rein in his more radical supporters.
Concerned about Islamic State sleeper cells in Syria, neighboring Jordan is cautiously hoping the country’s interim president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, will support international efforts to combat ISIS.
A number of international humanitarian organizations, local associations, and organizations operate within the al-Hol refugee camp in northern Syria. Most of these organizations are primarily funded by the U.S., meaning that three sectors and several community segments are directly affected by the U.S. State Department’s decision to halt foreign aid.
Who are the six people behind the decision to freeze military aid to Ukraine after the Oval Office clash with Volodymyr Zelensky? Their backgrounds are enough to raise concerns for Ukraine and Europe, which they see as relics of the past that need to be dismantled.
The imprisoned founder of the Kurdish Workers’ Party, Abdullah Ocalan, has called on his supporters to lay down their arms and dissolve the party. This peace initiative could have repercussions beyond Turkey, reaching Syria as well.
With the downfall of the Assad regime, Algeria lost a strong ally in the Arab region. Algiers is now seeking to establish relations with the new leadership in Damascus, hoping to maintain its old alliance despite the change of regime.
In Syria, LGBTQ+ individuals are being stripped of their freedom, dignity and right to defend themselves. Only a few voices and organizations working in secrecy attempt to shed light on the violations against them in an environment that is increasingly hostile toward anyone who dares to advocate for marginalized groups.
Hezbollah has emerged notably weaker from the war with Israel. The image of the protector that it had entrenched in Lebanon’s Shiite consciousness was shattered by the war in favor of an idea that calls for the Lebanese army as an alternative guardian. Yet Hezbollah is hardly fading away.
For years, “Caesar,” who leaked photos providing evidence of the torture and killing of civilians by President Bashar al-Assad’s government, seemed like a legend or a symbol who transcended reality for Syrians. Now Assad is gone, and we know who Caesar is. So why are some now accusing Caesar of being responsible for starving Syrians and worsening their economic crisis?
From the bustling streets of Cairo to the soulful melodies of Beirut, Arab cinema is masterfully capturing the heart of a region rich in culture, resilience and untold stories.
It appears that Syria’s new rulers, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, are refusing to respond to the social and political demands of former President Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite minority, risking a sectarian conflict in the war-torn country.
The collapse of the Assad regime in Syria freed thousands detained in the country’s prisons. But it has also revealed potential rights violations by international children’s NGOs, which received children whose parents were detained in Assad’s prisons. The situation echoes similar violations in Canada and Russia.
The year started without the tyrant of Damascus. Lebanon elected a president. Gaza has a ceasefire. Some of this progress is due to external geopolitical forces, yet there are signs that the region could be turning around from within.
In Syria the provisional government led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham has removed the term “gods” and images of statues from the school curriculum. Men destroy statues so that the statues do not destroy them. Removing these images and their rightful place in history is a dangerous call to war against truth and equality.
Supporters of the Assad regime rallied around the slogan “Assad forever.” But we have now seen what happens the day after “forever.” Egyptian writer Ezzat el-Kamhawi considers what that means for Syria and the region.
Following the collapse of the Assad regime, Tunisia and other countries are concerned about the return of thousands of jihadist nationals believed to have been held in Syria. Amid overcrowded prisons and fears of extremism, what are governments in Tunis and other Arab countries doing to prepare for their potential return?