A tumultuous year for Syria ended on a sour note with protests after images and videos circulated of the burning of a Christmas tree in a Christian-majority town near Damascus. News of the burning Christmas tree generated headlines around the world as the Islamist faction that toppled ex-President Bashar al-Assad aims to restore peace in […]

The fall of Bashar al-Assad's government at the hands of rebels, including Ankara-backed factions, has effectively made Turkey the dominant foreign actor in Syria at the expense of Iran and its ally Russia. Turkey and Iran have competed for years for influence in the South Caucasus, and this rivalry appears to have now extended to the Levant. "The Islamic republic has had significant misgivings ab...

Two weeks after Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was overthrown, the scope of Assad's decades-long abuse of human rights is coming into clearer focus. Imtiaz Tyab reports from Damascus.

The collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria has exposed the fragility of other autocratic regimes, such as Nicols Maduro's government in Venezuela, which relies on external support and faces growing impatience from its people.

From Donald Trump being shot at a campaign rally to Bashar al-Assad's shock overthrow, Newsweek writers on the moment of 2024: plus have your say.

The leader of the rebel forces group that took back Damascus from Bashar al-Assad will now rule without fear of a $10 million bounty the U.S. had on him.

The Kurdish coalition that controls a third of Syria and helped the US fight ISIS is facing a new reality after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad. NATO ally Turkey sees them as a threat and is demanding the dismantling of Kurdish militia (YPG). And some of the majority Arab civilians who live in Kurdish controlled areas want to be governed by the rebels that took Damascus instead.

Over 100,000 people were forcibly disappeared under Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, according to rights groups. Imtiaz Tyab spoke with people desperate to find their loved ones after Damascus fell to Syrian rebels.

The U.S. military killed an ISIS leader and another member in an airstrike in Syria on Thursday, the Pentagon revealed Friday. U.S. Central Command Forces targeted Abu Yusif, also known as Mahmud, in the Dayr az Zawr Province, an area formerly controlled by the toppled regime of Bashar al-Assad and Russian fighters, the command said...

Syria's new rulers are forming a government after more than half a century of dictatorship under former leader Bashar al-Assad and his father.

With the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, the search for an American journalist who has been imprisoned for over 12 years has intensified. Austin Tice, 43, was detained at a checkpoint while traveling from a suburb of Damascus to Lebanon in 2012. He was working as a freelance journalist for various publications including The ...

As Syria's economy collapsed during its civil war, the country became something of a narco state. The regime of ousted President Bashar al-Assad earned billions by trafficking in the drug Captagon.

WASHINGTONThe head of a U.S.-based Syrian advocacy organization on Monday said that a mass grave outside of Damascus contained the bodies of at least 100,000 people killed by the former government of ousted President Bashar al-Assad. Mouaz Moustafa, speaking to Reuters in a telephone interview from Damascus, said the site at al Qutayfah, 25 miles […]

A barrage of post-mortem analyses have sought to investigate the stunning collapse of Bashar al-Assads regime. However, key details remain unreported, and misconceptions are beginning to circulate regarding the opposition forces involved and the timeline of events. Unlocking the black box of Syrias information space is critical as international stakeholders work with local Syrian actors i...

Former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad depended on his military to keep him in power for years. Then in just a matter of days, that same feared military disintegrated as rebel groups took control of the country. Our reporter in Damascus talks to former military members to understand why the military collapsed so fast. Support our non-profit journalism by joining NPR+ at