Jailed Kurdish leader calls for PKK to ‘disarm, dissolve’ after four-decade campaign that has cost 40,000 lives
Abdullah Ocalan is serving life sentence, but could be freed under tentative Turkish peace process
Syria
Moving from Syria to Ireland: My daughters speak Arabic and English and they learn Irish at school
Eyvon Bastouri from Syria came to Ireland in 2016. She has a busy life, juggling two children and her own projects, including her fledgling baking business
Egypt fears Syria’s revolutionary fervour could be contagious
After years of economic misery, discontent with the regime of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi could explode into protest in Egypt
Searching for Syria’s disappeared: ‘We can’t always give answers, but we can give part of the story'
Amer Matar, who fled Syria in 2011, runs an online archive that helps people to search for information about their loved ones
Fiction in translation: A glimpse of failed far-right coup leader’s assured gifts as a storyteller
Works by Yukio Mishima, Samar Yazbek, Solvej Balle, Zahran Alqasmi and Vincenzo Latronico
Vincent Durac: Even if ceasefire holds, war in Gaza will affect whole region for years
West Bank at risk of even more violence, and events in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria have significantly weakened Iranian regime
‘Assad was no friend of the Palestinians’: gravediggers of a once-thriving suburb of Damascus devastated in Syrian war
The residents of Yarmouk ‘need help rebuilding’ the enclave of the Palestinian diaspora, which was reduced to rubble by Syrian and Russian air forces
Saudi Arabia calls for end to sanctions on Syria after Riyadh meetings
Regional and western ministers along with senior diplomats pursue ways to advance country’s recovery
Israel in Syria: ‘We’re the only part of the country that didn’t celebrate the fall of Assad’
Binyamin Netanyahu’s order for Israeli troops to ‘take over’ a buffer zone with Syria upended decades of relative calm along the de-facto border between the two countries
Diplomats tread the road to Damascus as Syria’s new regime seeks international support
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has held talks with European and US officials, as well regional government ministers
Syrians accuse rulers of imposing Islamist agenda in new curriculum
Critics fear rebel-backed government is pushing religious vision on to what has long been a secular country
Unstable new world order has frightening echoes of 1930s and 1940s
Trump’s re-election fuels global turmoil in which Putin is the biggest of many autocrats blending kleptocracy and dictatorship. US institutions and international treaties are fading, and Ukraine and Palestine have been betrayed
The Syrian neighbourhood at the heart of Assad’s killing machine
Residents returning to Tadamon, once a rebel stronghold near Damascus, find mass graves and expropriated homes
One of the casualties of 12 months of war in the Middle East was the rule of international law
In the space of a single year, the Islamic Republic of Iran effectively lost three of the key elements in its so-called axis of resistance
Syria: 14 security personnel killed in attempted arrest of Sednaya prison officer
Clash broke out in Tartous province, a stronghold of the ousted president Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite minority
Asma al-Assad, wife of ousted Syrian leader, reportedly severely ill with leukaemia
Assad was diagnosed with acute form of disease in May and has been given 50/50 chance of survival
Israeli military intercepts missile launched from Yemen, says army
Syria cautions Iran on spreading chaos in country; and Israel fails to curb armed gangs looting Gaza food convoys
After the fall of Assad, a family reunites
The future is far from certain, but over juice and cakes one group of relatives celebrates finally being in the same room together
Western indifference to Israel’s thirst for war defines a grotesque year of hypocrisy
As China and Russia weigh up their options in anticipation of Donald Trump’s second presidency, horrified countries in the Global South see Gaza as an emblem of US and European double standards
Top US officials meet new Syrian rulers
US diplomats discuss transition principles with representatives of Syria’s new de facto rulers led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
Vladimir Putin claims war in Ukraine has made Russia ‘much stronger’
Moscow ‘ready for negotiations and compromises’ to end the fighting, Russian president says during carefully controlled press conference
For now in Syria, there is excitement – and a bit of apprehension – about what comes next
Life under Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has generated mixed responses
Western governments expand contacts with Syria’s new leadership
France raises flag at Damascus embassy as Europan Union officials prepare to engage with administration
Israeli foreign minister calls Taoiseach Simon Harris ‘antisemitic’
Taoiseach said he would not comment on ‘personalised and false attacks and remains focused on the horrific war crimes being perpetrated in Gaza’
Assad says he did not plan to leave Syria before evacuation to Russia
Ousted president makes first statement since being toppled from power
Why is Israel bombing Syria?
Attacks on arms centres, alleged chemical weapons facilities, and military air and sea resources are essentially defensive in nature, Israel claims
How will Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rule Syria? Its past offers clues
The Islamist rebels who ousted Bashar al-Assad ran a pragmatic and disciplined administration in the territory they controlled
Assad dispatched $250m of Syria’s cash to Moscow
Central bank sent planeloads of dollars in 2018 and 2019 when dictator was indebted to the Kremlin
Israel to double settlement population in Golan Heights after fall of Assad
Plateau annexed in 1981 is not recognised as Israeli territory by most countries
US meets Arab ministers amid uncertainty over Syria transition
Arab countries called for end to hostilities in Syria and said they would support the transitional government
Syria’s path to stability remains deeply uncertain
The group that brought down the Assad regime might be in the process of reinventing itself but it would be foolish to imagine that the Islamists of HTS have converted to the cause of liberal democracy
‘Bashar al Assad is the refugee now, that’s the irony. He is the last Syrian refugee’: Syrians in Ireland ponder potential return home
The Assad regime’s collapse has left Syrians in Ireland facing the ‘confusing’ option of returning to their country of origin, something they believed to be impossible before now
Fall of the house of Assad: a dynasty built on the banality of evil
Decades of brutal dictatorship in Syria came to a remarkably swift end when Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow and opposition forces took control of Damascus
Inside Syria: Sally Hayden on the excitement and emotion of Syrians after Assad’s fall
One young man says, ‘I’m so mentally happy because any other regime that comes could never be as bad as the regime that has collapsed’
US and Turkey discuss consequences of Assad’s fall in Syria
Samir Ousman Alsheikh (72) headed the Adra prison, as it is colloquially known, during the period 2005 to 2008
The Irish Times view on Syria after Assad: a chance to start anew
The country deserves maximum international and regional support as it confronts the mammoth tasks ahead
Assad’s fall sees Iran’s regional influence wane
Yemen-based Houthis are the only full-strength survivors of Tehran’s axis of resistance
‘We need time’: Syrians in Europe resist calls to return home
Refugees in Germany and elsewhere are in ‘wait and see’ mode after fall of Assad regime
Moscow says it aims to maintain military bases in Syria
US defends Israel’s operations in Syria since fall of Assad
Pause on Syrian asylum claims to be reviewed in coming weeks, says Helen McEntee
Minister for Justice says fall of Assad regime ‘really positive’ but it is not clear what will happen next in Syria
Desperate search for the 100,000 missing continues as life returns to the streets of Damascus
Rebel coalition calls for people to return to work and ‘contribute to building a new Syria’
Syrian rebel leader says anyone involved in torture during Assad’s rule will be punished
World watching to see if Syria’s new rulers can stabilise country after 13-year civil war fought along sectarian and ethnic lines
‘We used to say the government can see your dreams’: Syrians in Ireland feel they now have ‘two homes’
Osama Abou Hajar, who moved here in 2015, is ‘inspired’ by Irish history and hopes Syria can rebuild in a ‘similar way’
Turkey set to benefit from Assad’s downfall
President Erdogan determined to further his nation’s regional interests by helping to ensure the transition to a stable new political regime in Syria
At 5am, my husband shakes me awake. The Syrian regime has fallen
Assad’s withdrawal ignites a tiny spark of hope. We don’t know the rebels’ agenda but everyone from all religions and backgrounds seems united
Letters to the Editor, December 11th: On alcohol, ugly buildings and fake grass
A State agency for alcohol harm reduction would make our healthcare system more sustainable
Crowds throng Syria’s ‘human slaughterhouse’ drawn by hopes of a miracle reunion
They came from far and wide to search the notorious Sednaya prison, seeking answers but finding only disappointment and desperation
Syria’s interim leader backed by former rebels to take on role of caretaker prime minister
Israel denies troops are advancing on Damascus despite acknowledging some had taken up positions outside demilitarised zone
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani: Profile of the HTS leader
Politicised in 2000 by the second Palestinian intifada, the man who helped get rid of Bashar al-Assad started thinking about ‘defending a people who are oppressed by occupiers and invaders’
Asylum applications made by Syrian nationals in Ireland paused after fall of al-Assad regime
Helen McEntee is due to discuss asylum issue at EU meeting on Thursday following ousting of Assad in Syria
Letters to the Editor, December 10th: Syria, women ministers, and ‘meaningful Christmas’
If you look at a map of Syria and reflect on other nations’ experiences, you might be concerned
Checkpoints and guard posts burned or abandoned on the road into Syria
Despite jubilance, Syria is in grip of power vacuum and economic problems with path of evolution unclear
Syrian rebels seek to consolidate control amid fears for Middle East stability
Israel says air strikes will continue to target Assad’s former arsenal
Britain pauses Syrian asylum decision process after fall of Assad
Focus will be reflection on ‘diplomatic relations with Syria’ and a cautious observation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
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