Syria Weekly: July 21-28, 2026

Historic UN SecGen visit, + IMF, World Bank, OECD, Bahrain, Palestine, Ireland, UK & Czechia; Parliament 2nd session; FATF work begins; bus crash & road safety crisis; Hasakeh tribes backdown; & more

SYRIA’S TRANSITION:

• Transition Meetings

• Appointments

• Political Developments

• Economic Developments

• Infrastructure Developments

• Education Developments

• Security Developments

• Humanitarian Developments

• Health Developments

• Justice Developments

• International Developments

CONFLICT & SECURITY:

• Israel

• ISIS

• Idlib

• Aleppo

• Latakia

• Tartus

• Hama

• Homs

• Raqqa

• Hasakeh

• Deir ez Zour

• Rif Dimashq

• Damascus

• Daraa

• Suwayda

SYRIA’S TRANSITION:

Transition Meetings:

July 21:

• Interior Minister Anas Khattab hosted a visit by his Bahraini counterpart Lieutenant General Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa in Damascus on July 21, for discussions on the bilateral security relationship.

• Following the meeting with Interior Minister Khattab, Bahraini Interior Minister al-Khalifa met with Minister of Emergency and Disaster Response, Raed al-Saleh and signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance cooperation in disaster risk reduction and civil protection.

  

• Following that engagement, the Bahraini Interior Minister was hosted by President Ahmed al-Sharaa in the People’s Palace.

• Later that day, President al-Sharaa also hosted a delegation from the President of the General Union of Chambers of Commerce of Libya, Muhammad Abdul Karim al-Ra’id, for a meeting alongside Minister of Economy and Industry Nidal al-Shaar focused on bilateral economic ties and commercial partnerships.

  

• Minister of Higher Education Marwan al-Halabi visited Aleppo on July 21 and met with Governor Azzam al-Gharib and President of Aleppo University Osama Radoun. They later traveled to al-Bab to lay the foundation stone for the Faculties of Veterinary Medicine, Agricultural Engineering, and Science of Aleppo University. That night, Governor of Aleppo led a ceremony in al-Bab to mark the laying of the foundation stone for the new university colleges and a connected ‘administrative city’ in the area.

• That day, Aleppo Governor Azzam al-Gharib also hosted a meeting with Japan’s Charge d’Affairs Akihiko Tsuji and delegations from the UNDP, WHO and the UN Human Settlements Programme to discuss ongoing Japanese support to recovery efforts in Aleppo governorate.

  

• Minister of Transport Yaroub Badr held a virtual meeting with staff from the World Bank on July 21 focused on a strategy and schedule developed by the World Bank for Syria’s railway rehabilitation and development — both to support Syria’s phosphate industry and export potential and to connect Syria’s railways with the rest of the region.

• Minister of Emergency and Disaster Response Raed al-Saleh hosted a meeting with UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons Paula Gaviria Betancur in Damascus on July 21. They discussed the importance of continued efforts to resolve the unexploded ordnance (UXO) threat and to support displaced Syrians returning from camps through reconstruction, food security and other initiatives.

• Minister of Culture Mohammed Yassin al-Saleh traveled to Amman, Jordan on July 21 and visited the Institute of Politics and Society to meet with its director, Reem Saleem and a group of Jordanian writers, political figures and researchers.