(2026-01-24). in a Syrian refugee tale wows Sundance. al-monitor.com As a million Syrians fled their country's devastating civil war in 2015, directors Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes headed to Turkey where they would meet a young girl who encapsulated the contradictions of this enormous migration.In Ismir, they met Isra'a, a then-11-year-old girl whose family had left Aleppo as bombs rained down on the city, and who would become the subject of their documentary "One In A Million," which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday.
(2026-01-24). US military negotiated SDF withdrawal from Raqqa prison. al-monitor.com Syrian government forces took full control of Raqqa after hundreds of SDF fighters were evacuated to Kobani under US-negotiated safe passage.
(2026-01-24). Massacre Claimed as SDF Fighter Killed 21 in Village Near Syria's Kobane. news.antiwar.com The Kurdish SDF has reported that one of their fighters was involved in an apparent massacre in the village of Kharous, near the important border city of Kobane. The incident gained major national attention after a video was released online of the killer bragging about the incident. The fighter in question was posing with the …
(2026-01-24). Syrian troops, Kurdish forces poised on front lines as truce deadline looms. al-monitor.com By Orhan Qereman and Khalil AshawiQAMISHLI, Syria, Jan 24 (Reuters) – Syrian troops and Kurdish forces were massed on opposing sides of front lines in northern Syria on Saturday, as the clock ticked down to an evening deadline that would determine whether they resume fighting or lay down their arms.Neighbouring Turkey, as well as some officials in Syria, said late on Friday that the deadline could be extended.
(2026-01-24). Turkey pro-Kurd party urges end to Kobane siege. al-monitor.com Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM party on Saturday called for the blockade on the Kurdish-majority city of Kobane in northern Syria to be lifted immediately, warning of a "humanitarian tragedy".The situation in Kobane had escalated from a crisis into a "deadly catastrophe", DEM said after sending a delegation to visit northeastern Syria which over the past week has been targeted by a major Syrian military offensive. The Kurdish-held city, which is also known as Ain al-Arab, is surrounded by the Turkish border to its north and government forces on all sides.
(2026-01-24). 150 IS detainees transferred to Iraq. tribune.com.pk 
Europeans were among 150 senior Islamic State group detainees transferred this week by the US military from Kurdish custody in Syria to neighbouring Iraq, whose premier urged EU countries to repatriate their nationals. | They were among an estimated 7,000 jihadists due to be moved to Iraq as the Kurdish-led force that has held them for years relinquishes swathes of territory to the advancing Syrian army. | In 2014, IS swept across Syria and Iraq, committing massacres and forcing women and girls into sexual slavery, but backed by a US-led coalition, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) ultimately defe…
(2026-01-24). The Middle East is at a tipping point as the U.S. fuels crisis across the region. mondoweiss.net 
Long-standing crises in Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, and Iran are deepening as the U.S. imprint on the Middle East shows no signs of weakening.
(2026-01-24). Iran thanks Pakistan for opposing UN rights vote in Geneva. tribune.com.pk 
Iran's ambassador to Pakistan has publicly thanked Islamabad for opposing a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution that deepens international scrutiny of Tehran's crackdown on protests. | "I extend my sincere gratitude to the esteemed Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, under the leadership of the Honorable Prime Minister, H.E. Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, H.E. Muhammad Ishaq Dar," Iran's Ambassador Raza Amiri Moghadam said in a post on X. | I extend my sincere gratitude to the esteemed Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakista…