ABBY SEWELL

News director, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq

Sewell is the Associated Press news director for Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. She joined the AP in 2022 but has been based in the region since 2016, reporting and guiding coverage on some of its most significant news stories.
Syria's interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, leaves the podium after speaking during Syria's national dialogue conference at the People’s Palace in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday Feb. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
Syria’s national dialogue conference held as the battered country seeks to rebuild
Syria’s new rulers have held a long-awaited national dialogue conference to rebuild the country after nearly 14 years of civil war and the fall of former President Bashar Assad.
 
A trailer carrying the coffins containing the bodies of Hezbollah's former leader Hassan Nasrallah and his cousin and successor Hashem Safieddine drives through the crowd during a funeral procession at the Sports City Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Masses of mourners attend the funeral of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah, 5 months after his killing
Hundreds of thousands of people have packed into a stadium in Beirut and nearby streets for the funeral of Hezbollah’s leader, nearly five months after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a southern suburb of the capital.
 
Hassan al-Daghim, spokesperson for the preparatory committee for Syria's national dialogue conference, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdelrahman Shaheen)
Syria’s national dialogue conference is in flux amid pressure for a political transition
A spokesperson for the committee preparing a national dialogue conference in Syria to help chart the country’s future says that it has not been decided whether the conference will take place before or after a new government is formed.
 
Geir O. Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria, speaks during a press conference in Damascus Wednesday Jan. 22, 2025.(AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
UN envoy says creating an inclusive Syrian government could help lift sanctions
U.N. special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen has said that formation of a “new inclusive government” in Damascus by March 1 could pave the way for lifting sanctions imposed by western countries.
 
Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, left, and his son Henry take pictures as they visit the Al-Raqi synagogue in the old city of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
Syrian Jews’ homecoming brings hope for reconstruction and a permanent return after decades in exile
As Rabbi Yusuf Hamra and his son Henry were visiting Damascus this week for the first time since emigrating from Syria to the United States more than three decades ago, they were met by former neighbors with embraces and and gossip .
 
Hezbollah supporters protest near Beirut's international airport against Lebanon's decision to revoke permission for an Iranian carrier after Israel accused Iran of smuggling cash to Hezbollah, in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo)
Woman killed as Israeli forces fire on returnees to southern Lebanon ahead of ceasefire deadline
Lebanese media say a woman has been killed and several other people wounded after Israeli forces opened fire on a group of residents attempting to return to the village of Houla in the south.
 
Top commander with UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon is injured by protesters
The U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon says the outgoing deputy commander of the force in Lebanon known as UNIFIL was injured when protesters attacked a convoy taking peacekeepers to the Beirut airport.
 
France's President Emmanuel Macron, left, greets Syria's Interim Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shibani during the International Conference on Syria at the Ministerial Conference Center, in Paris, France, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (Ludovic Marin, Pool Photo via AP)
France’s Macron urges Syria’s interim government to join a US-led coalition fighting extremists
French President Emmanuel Macron offers to back Syria’s interim government in potential partnership with the U.S.
 
In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, center, meets with Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam, right, and parliament speaker Nabih Berri, left, in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
War-torn Lebanon forms its first government in over 2 years to end deadlock
Lebanon’s new prime minister has formed the country’s first full-fledged government since 2022. President Joseph Aoun announced in a statement Saturday that he had accepted the resignation of the former caretaker government and signed a decree with new Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to form the new gove
 
Chemical weapons watchdog delegation meets with Syria’s new leaders
A delegation from the global chemical weapons watchdog has arrived in Damascus to meet with Syria’s new leaders for the first time since the fall of former President Bashar Assad.
 
Commissioner-General of the U.N. agency for Palestinian Refugees Philippe Lazzarini speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Future looks dire for UN Palestinian refugee agency, says UNRWA chief
The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, says an Israeli ban on his institution has not forced it to halt its services so far but that in the long run, the agency faces an “existential threat.”
 
U.S. Army soldiers stand outside their armored vehicle on a joint base with the Iraqi army, south of Mosul, Iraq, Feb. 23, 2017. (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed, File)
Regime change in Syria has Iraqi factions backtracking on push for US withdrawal
The fall of Bashar Assad in Syria has led Iran-allied factions in neighboring Iraq to reconsider their push for U.S. forces to exit the country, multiple Iraqi and American officials told The Associated Press.
 
Syria's de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, walks in the presidential palace ahead of his meeting with Walid Ellafi, Libyan minister of state for communication and political affairs, in Damascus, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)
Leader of rebels who toppled Syrian President Bashar Assad is named country’s interim president
The Syrian factions that toppled President Bashar Assad last month have named an Islamist former rebel leader as the country‘s interim president in a push to project a united front as they face the monumental task of rebuilding Syria after nearly 14 years of civil war.
 
Lebanese citizens check the destruction on their village caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive, in Aita al-Shaab, a Lebanese border village with Israel, south Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
22 reported killed in Lebanon before agreement to extend deadline for Israeli forces to withdraw
Israeli forces in southern Lebanon have opened fire on protesters demanding their withdrawal in line with a ceasefire agreement, killing at least 22 and injuring scores.
 
A child inspects the damage of his destroyed family home, in Bureij, central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, days after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas came into effect. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
How the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal will unfold — and why it is so precarious
Israeli troops have pulled back to the edges of Gaza, the first hostages have been released and many Palestinians have returned to what remains of their homes in the first few days of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.
 
A family drives past tanks that belonged to the Assad government, in Nawa, near Daraa, Syria, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Southern rebels loom large as Syria’s new rulers try to form a national army
Syria’s interim rulers are trying to form a united national army after the fall of Bashar Assad late last year.
 
In this photo released by Syrian State TV, four suspects arrested in connection with an alleged plot by ISIS are shown standing against a wall in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. Syrian intelligence officials, operating under the country's new de facto government, thwarted an attempt by ISIS to detonate a bomb at the Shiite shrine of Sayyida Zaynab in the Damascus suburb, according to state media reports on Saturday.(Syrian State TV via AP)
Syrian intelligence agency says it thwarted a planned Islamic State attack on a Shiite shrine
Intelligence officials in Syria’s new de facto government say they have thwarted a plan by the Islamic State group to set off a bomb at a Shiite shrine in the Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab.
 
Newly-elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reviews the honor guard upon his arrival at the Lebanese Parliament to be sworn in as a new president, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Who is Joseph Aoun, a low-profile army chief who is now Lebanon’s president?
Lebanon’s new president and former army commander Joseph Aoun has maintained a low profile. Those who know him say he is no-nonsense and averse to affiliating himself with any party or even expressing a political opinion.
 
Lebanese cabinet ministers applaud the newly-elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, standing at the top, as gives his first speech at Parliament after being sworn in as president in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Lebanon’s parliament elects army commander Joseph Aoun as president, ending a 2-year deadlock
Lebanon’s parliament has voted to elect army commander Joseph Aoun as the head of state, filling a more than two-year-long presidential vacuum.
 
Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun arrives for a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)
Will Lebanon finally elect a president after a 2-year vacuum?
Lebanon’s parliament is set to convene Thursday to attempt to elect a head of state for the 13th time during a presidential vacuum of over two years.
 
Lebanon to deport detained son of late Muslim Brotherhood leader to UAE
Lebanon’s cabinet has voted to deport a detained Egyptian activist and poet to the United Arab Emirates.
 
A boy carrying bread cycles home as Israeli military armored vehicles block a road leading to the town of Quneitra, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Residents of Syria’s Quneitra are frustrated by lack of action to halt Israeli advance
The presence of Israeli troops who entered a U.N. buffer zone on the border with Syria following the fall of President Bashar Assad is frustrating the local population.
 
Mariam Kourani removes a toy car from the rubble of her destroyed house after returning with her family to the Hanouiyeh village in southern Lebanon, on Nov. 28, 2024, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
The fragile Israel-Hezbollah truce is holding so far, despite violations
A ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has held up for over a month, even as its terms seem unlikely to be met by the agreed-upon deadline.
 
Syria's de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, foreground, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, walks in the presidential palace ahead of his meeting with Walid Ellafi, Libyan minister of state for communication and political affairs, in Damascus, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Syria’s embassy in Lebanon suspends services as Lebanon hands over former Syrian army officers
Syria’s embassy in Lebanon has suspended consular services a day after two relatives of deposed Syrian President Bashar Assad were arrested at the Beirut airport with allegedly forged passports.
 
This is a locator map for Syria with its capital, Damascus. (AP Photo)
Relatives of Bashar Assad arrested as they tried to fly out of Lebanon, officials say
Lebanese officials say the wife and daughter of one of deposed Syrian president Bashar Assad’s cousins have been arrested at the Beirut airport.
 
A member of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government checks the ID of a driver at a security checkpoint in Homs, Syria, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
An uneasy calm settles over Syrian city of Homs after outbreak of sectarian violence
Syria’s new security forces checked IDs and searched cars in the central city of Homs a day after protests by members of the Alawite minority erupted in gunfire and stirred fears that the country’s fragile peace could break down.
 
Syrian fighters step around the burned-out tomb of late Syrian President Hafez Assad at his mausoleum in Qardaha, Syria, on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
In Assad’s hometown, few shared in his family’s fortune. They hope they won’t share in his downfall
On the walls of the palatial mausoleum built to house the remains of former Syrian President Hafez Assad — whose son, Bashar Assad, was ousted two weeks ago — vandals have sprayed variations of the phrase, “Damn your soul, Hafez.”
 
Syrians continue to celebrate the ousting of Bashar al-Assad's government, at Umayyad Square, in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
US drops $10M terrorism bounty offered for capture of Syrian rebel leader who ousted Assad
The Biden administration says it has decided not to pursue a $10 million reward it had offered for the capture of a Syrian rebel leader whose forces led the ouster of President Bashar Assad.
 
Russian army armoured vehicles drive near the Hmeimim Air Base, a Syrian airbase currently operated by Russia, located southeast of the city of Latakia in the town of Hmeimim, Syria, Monday Dec. 16, 2024.(AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Russian presence in Syria remains. But it’s unclear for how long
Russia’s intervention on behalf of former Syrian leader Bashar Assad once turned the tide of Syria’s civil war.
 
A Syrian Christians woman lights a candle during the first Sunday Mass since Syrian President Bashar Assad's ouster, at Mariamiya Orthodox Church in old Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Christians in Syria mark country’s transformation with tears as UN envoy urges an end to sanctions
In churches across long-stifled Syria, Christians have marked the first Sunday services since Bashar Assad’s ouster in an air of transformation.
 
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