Spotlight | Syria
Damascus facing challenge of securing freshly seized northeast

Syrian security forces guard the al-Omar oil field in Deir ez-Zor Governorate on 22 January 2026.
Syrian security forces guard the al-Omar oil field in Deir ez-Zor Governorate on 22 January 2026. © Abdulmonam Eassa/Getty Images via AFP
Having managed to seize vast swaths of northeastern Syria in only a few weeks, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa now faces the daunting task of stabilising this Kurdish heartland still riddled with Islamic State cells. [...]
Reading time 3 minutes Fanny Alarcon
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