2026 in Syria

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Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	History of Syria Timeline of Syrian history List of years in Syria

Events in the year 2026 in Syria.

Incumbents

Central government

See also: Syrian transitional government

Office	Image	Name	Tenure
President of the Syrian Arab Republic		Ahmed al-Sharaa	29 January 2025–present
Speaker of the People's Assembly		Abdul Hamid al-Awak	12 July 2026–present
President of the Supreme Constitutional Court		Issam al-Khalif	11 July 2026–present

Legislature

• People's Assembly: 23rd People's Assembly (12 July 2026–present)

Governorates

See also: Governorates of Syria

Governors

Damascus Governorate: Maher Marwan Rif Dimashq Governorate: Amer al-Sheikh Aleppo Governorate: Azzam al-Gharib Idlib Governorate: Mohammed Abdul Rahman Hama Governorate: Abdul Rahman al-Sahyan Homs Governorate: Abdul Rahman al-Aama (until 9 May); Murhaf Khaled al-Naasan (since 9 May) Latakia Governorate: Ahmed Ali Mustafa Tartus Governorate: Ahmad al-Shami Daraa Governorate: Anwar al-Zoubi Quneitra Governorate: Ghassan Elias al-Sayyed Ahmad Suwayda Governorate: Mustafa al-Bakour Deir ez-Zor Governorate: Ghassan al-Sayyed Ahmed (until 9 May); Ziad al-Ayesh (since 9 May) Raqqa Governorate: Vacant (until 19 January); Abdul Rahman Salama (since 19 January) Hasakah Governorate: Vacant (until 13 February); Noureddin Issa Ahmed (since 13 February)

Events

For events related to the civil war, see Timeline of the Syrian civil war (November 2024–present)

January

• 3 January –
  • An unidentified missile explodes at Mezzeh Air Base in Mezzeh, Damascus.
  • The United Kingdom and France carry out a joint airstrike on an underground arms cache used by Islamic State north of Palmyra.
  • New banknotes for the Syrian pound to replace those issued during the Assad regime begin circulation.
• 6 January – At least nine people are killed in clashes between the transitional government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Aleppo. The fighting subsides with the SDF's withdrawal on 11 January.
• 10 January – A drone attack is carried out on the headquarters of the Aleppo Governorate's government in Aleppo city.
• 13 January – The Syrian army declares the towns of Maskana and Dayr Hafir in Aleppo Governorate as closed military zones due to the presence of the SDF.
• 16 January –
  • President Ahmed al-Sharaa issues a decree recognising Syrian Kurds as an essential part of the Syrian people and the country's diverse national identity. The decree also recognizes Kurdish as a national language and Nowruz as a national holiday.
  • The United States carries out an airstrike in northwestern Syria that kills a senior al-Qaeda militant.
• 17 January – The Syrian army retakes Dayr Hafir following the withdrawal of the SDF.
• 18 January –
  • The Syrian army retakes the Al-Omar field following the withdrawal of the SDF.
  • The transitional government reaches a ceasefire agreement with the SDF, allowing for the government in Damascus to reassert control over Al-Hasakah, Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa Governorates.
• 19 January – Around 120 members of Islamic State held in al-Aqtan prison in Al-Shaddadah escape amid clashes in the town between the Syrian army and the SDF.
• 20 January – The transitional government reaches a new four-day ceasefire agreement with the SDF. The ceasefire is extended for another 15 days on 24 January.
• 21 January –
  • The transitional government takes control of the Al-Hawl refugee camp from the SDF.
  • Seven Syrian army soldiers are killed in a drone strike blamed on the SDF in Al-Hasakah Governorate.
• 30 January –
  • The SDF reaches a comprehensive agreement with the transitional government to be integrated into the Syrian Armed Forces.
  • The Lebanese government approves an agreement allowing for the repatriation of Syrian nationals serving prison sentences in Lebanon.

February

• 4 February – The Syrian Petroleum Company signs an agreement with Chevron Corporation and Qatar's Power International Holding to develop Syria's first offshore oil and gas field.
• 7 February – Syria and Saudi Arabia sign a series of investment agreements that include the development of new airports in Aleppo and the establishment of a low-cost Syrian-Saudi airline called Flynas Syria and the SilkLink telecommunications project.
• 12 February – The Syrian army retakes control of the Al-Tanf military base following the withdrawal of US forces.
• 15 February – The Syrian army retakes control of the al-Shaddadi military base following the withdrawal of US forces.
• 21 February – Islamic State carries out attacks on Syrian Army personnel in Mayadin and Raqqa.
• 22 February – The Al-Hawl refugee camp is completely vacated.
• 23 February – Islamic State militants kill four Syrian security personnel in Raqqa.
• 28 February – In retaliation for the 2026 Israeli–United States strikes on Iran, Iran launches missiles at neighbouring countries, with at least four people being killed by an Iranian missile strike in Sweida Governorate.

March

• 9 March – Syrian civil war, Syria–United Kingdom relations: The United Kingdom's Crown Prosecution Services charges a former soldier from the Air Force Intelligence Directorate with three counts of murder and three counts of torture as crimes against humanity under the International Criminal Court Act for his attacks on civilians in Damascus in 2011.
• 17 March – Parliamentary elections are held in Raqqa, Tabqa and Tal Abyad.
• 20 March – Israeli forces strike Syrian military sites, including command and control centres and supply depots, in the south of the country, claiming to be in response to Syrian government attacks on the Druze population.

April

• 16 April – The US military completes its withdrawal from Qasrak air base in Hasakah Governorate.
• 20 April – The Yarubiyah border crossing with Iraq reopens for the first time since 2011.
• 24 April – Amjad Yousef, an Assad-era intelligence official involved in the killings of inmates at a prison in Tadamon in 2022, is arrested in Hama Governorate.

May

• 1 May – A Shiite cleric is killed in a grenade attack on his car in Sayyidah Zaynab.
• 9 May – President al-Sharaa implements a cabinet reshuffle that also sees the removal of his brother Maher al-Sharaa as Secretary-General to the Presidency.
• 19 May – A soldier is killed while 21 people are injured in a car bombing near a facility of the defense ministry in the Bab Sharqi area of Damascus.
• 21 May – Three people are killed in a landmine explosion in Abu Habbah, Idlib Governorate.
• 23 May – Turkey apprehends 10 Islamic State operatives in Syria.
• 24 May – Parliamentary elections are held in Kobani and Hasakah Governorate.

June

• 15 June – A court in the Netherlands sentences a Syrian asylum-seeker to 26 years' imprisonment for the torture and rape of imprisoned opponents of the Assad regime during the Syrian Civil War.
• 19 June — The US Central Command announces that it killed Ali Husayn al-Ulaywi, a senior Islamic State leader in a strike in northwestern Syria.
• 20 June –
  • Two soldiers are killed in an Islamic State attack in the vicinity of Manbij.
  • Sami al-Oraydi, a senior leader of the Islamist militant group Hurras al-Din, is killed in a U.S.-led coalition airstrike in northern Syria.

July

• 1 July — President al-Sharaa appoints the remaining 70 vacancies in the People's Assembly of Syria.
• 2 July — At least nine people are killed and 20 others are injured in a bombing at a cafe in Damascus.
• 6 July — French President Emmanuel Macron visits Syria, in first visit by a western leader since the fall of Assad regime.
• 7 July — Twin explosions in Damascus kill one person and injure 36 others.
• 8 July — France returns 23 Syrian antiques it has held since the civil war.
• 12 July — The People's Assembly convenes for the first time since the fall of the Assad regime.
• 16 July — Syria states that it thwarted an attempt to transfer armaments to Hezbollah through Iraq.
• 25 July — Thirty-five people are killed in a bus accident along the Deir ez-Zor-Damascus road.

August

• 4 August — Syria says that it found several Grad projectiles hidden in Al-Harra.
• 6 August — Fourteen people are wounded in an explosion in Jaramana.
• 9 August – Syria and Russia reach an agreement on the future of Tartus and Khmeimim military bases following 18 months of negotiations.
• 10 August — Colombia recognizes Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
• 11 August –
  • A court in Damascus sentences former President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the Syrian civil war. The court also sentences Assad's cousin and former official Atef Najib on similar charges.
  • Three Israeli settlement activists are arrested by the IDF after entering the country.
• 14 August — A former Syrian security officer who served under the Assad regime and was convicted in Austria of crimes including sexual assault amid the Syrian civil war is released before completing his punishment and returns to the country.
• 18 August —
  • Israel carries out an attack on Abu al-Duhur Air Base, claiming that Turkey was planning to deploy its soldiers there.
  • Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani announces that nuclear material discovered at an undisclosed site in Syria is not harmful and will remain in Syrian possession, subject to the IAEA's guarantees.
  • An explosion occurs at a pipeline in the Al-Jabsah gas plant, which the Syrian Petroleum Company attributes to sabotage.
• 21 August — Syrian Kurds declare the completion of civil and military integration with Syria's official institutions.
• 22 August —
  • Syria formally applies for membership in the International Partnership Against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons on the anniversary of the Ghouta chemical attack.
  • An Israeli attack on a vehicle in Beit Jinn injures several people. The IDF states that it targeted a militant.
  • Several members of the Syrian Internal Security Forces are wounded in a bomb attack on their vehicle near Damascus.
• 24 August —
  • Syria is removed by the US Department of State from its State Sponsors of Terrorism list.
  • A court in Damascus sentences Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, the Grand Mufti of Syria from 2005 to 2021, to life imprisonment for crimes relating to the Syrian civil war.
• 25 August — Mazloum Abdi, the head of the Syrian Democratic Forces, announces the group’s dissolution.

Holidays

Further information: Public holidays in Syria

In January 2026, President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a further decree establishing Newroz as a public holiday.

• 1 January – New Year's Day
• 18 March – Syrian Revolution Day
• 20–22 March – Eid al-Fitr
• 21 March – Mother's Day
• 21 March – Newroz
• 5 April – Gregorian Easter
• 12 April – Easter (Eastern Christianity)
• 17 April – Independence Day
• 1 May – Labour Day
• 26-30 May – Eid al-Adha
• 16 June – Islamic New Year
• 25 August – The Prophet's Birthday
• 8 December – Liberation Day
• 25 December – Christmas Day

Deaths

• 11 January – Ahmad Melli, 80, actor.
• 20 January – Rifaat al-Assad, 88, vice president (1984–1998).
• 3 March – Muhammad al-Khuli, 88, chief of the air force intelligence directorate (1970–1987) and the air force (1994–1999).
• 16 July – Feras Esmaeel, 43, footballer (Al-Karamah, Zakho, national team).
• 30 July – Timoteo Hikmat Beylouni, 80, Syriac Catholic hierarch, apostolic exarch of Venezuela (since 2011).

External links

• Online calendar