For more than a century, Druze soldiers and politicians have made their mark on today's Syria. They are still writing their own history, as the recent Sweida violence shows.

This Druze-dominated city that has been the scene of fierce fighting in recent days may be a single governorate, but it is home to myriad armed groups with sometimes conflicting agendas.

The terrible violence in southern Syria this month shows what needs to be done by all actors, and shows what fate awaits if they do not.

The seasoned British diplomat and barrister who, until recently, was the United Nations' Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, speaks to Al Majalla about the Middle East.

In 1947, the world's nations came together to propose the partition of Palestine into separate Arab and Jewish states. One happened, the other did not. When they meet, will they right that wrong?

US President Donald Trump agreed a ceasefire in early May on the condition that the Houthis do not attack American ships. Good to their word, they are still attacking others, with no comeuppance.

The guns may have fallen silent but in Syria's Druze-dominated southern city, they have enforced the status quo. That is dangerous, since it fails to recognise that Syria has now fundamentally changed

Türkiye's 2019 agreement with Tripoli on maritime boundaries and exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean irked Athens at the time. The idea that Tobruk may ratify it has set off Greek alarms.

For Benjamin Netanyahu, it would be a 'humanitarian zone'. For most countries, it would be a war crime. For Egypt, it could be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

A recent summit and deals dubbed 'resources for security' puts America back in Africa, but on a different, purely economic mission. It is a far cry from the preaching and aid deliveries of yesteryear.