Damascus’ effort to force remaining Kurdish militia fighters out of the northern city of Aleppo will set back efforts to construct an inclusive, national political structure in post-Assad Syria. The Syrian offensive undermined U.S. negotiations to integrate its anti-ISIS partner, the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), into the central government …

Anti-government demonstrations in nearly 200 Iranian cities continue to expand and intensify despite the increasing use of force by regime security forces. The failure of the security forces to quell the unrest indicates that the opposition is highly motivated and that security personnel might be hesitant to carry out orders …

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria commented on Saturday, 17 January 2026, on a decree issued by Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, regarding Kurdish rights in Syria. It said the decree could be considered a first step, but that it does not meet the aspirations and hopes of …