The next round of Syria peace talks are scheduled to begin Friday, even as the international community braces for a potential bloodbath in Idlib province, the country’s last rebel stronghold. The United Nations said a major offensive by the Syrian regime and its allies in the northwestern province could be the “worst humanitarian disaster” of the 21st century, putting at risk more than 3 million people in Idlib and the surrounding areas...

In the fall of 2016, Syrian troops loyal to Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russian airstrikes and Iran-backed militias, marched on Aleppo and ultimately captured the city of 200,000 people, leaving a trail of destruction and human suffering. In February of this year, they besieged Eastern Ghouta...

In an era of global disorder—propelled by the intertwined dynamics of globalization and proliferating technology—the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) stand out as perhaps the most chaotic region. A proverbial “canary in the coal mine,” the MENA region’s numerous conflicts and endemic instability...

Israel has long been wary of Iran’s power projection in the Levant, particularly in Syria. Ties between Tehran and Damascus have been close since the 1979 revolution, but the relationship deepened after...

The Trump administration made clear that attacks against Syria's chemical weapons program had one purpose: to deter Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from using such weapons again in future as he had done, the United States and others said, recently in the city of Douma. Friday night's strike came one year after the US hit the Assad regime in similar fashion after Damascus had allegedly carried out...

U.S. troops will still be in Syria at the end of 2018, despite President Donald Trump’s order to withdraw within six months. While a recent White House statement noted that the mission to counter the Islamic State was coming to a “rapid end,” Syria’s messy reality—evidenced by the chemical attack in Douma last weekend and pressure for...

President Trump said Tuesday that the end is in sight for the U.S. military mission in Syria, yet military leaders have said the U.S. should remain until the Islamic State is wiped out. American reinforcements have arrived in Manbij in recent days, a sign that they will remain a counterweight in the conflict. John Yang talks to former USAID official Mona Yacoubian and Amberin Zaman of Al Monitor.

Seven years ago, when Syrian protesters called for “a day of rage” against Bashar al-Assad, there were few signs that they would have an impact. Three years later, as the protests transformed into a civil war, one that would eventually draw in the region’s powers, it seemed a matter of when, not if, Assad would go...