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النسخة العربية
  • Politics
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  • Tag
  • Bashar Al-Assad

A Syrian woman holds a picture of President Bashar al-Assad as other protestors fly Palestinian and Syrian flags during a demonstration to mark Land Day in Damascus on March 30, 2012. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP

The Assads were phony champions of the Palestinian cause

In its public statements, the Syrian government has long supported the Palestinian cause. In reality, the Assads sought to stymie the PLO, whose famous leader, Yasser Arafat, never trusted Damascus.

Majed Kayali 14 December 2024
Members of Russian and Syrian forces at the Abu Al-Duhur crossing on the eastern edge of Idlib province on August 20, 2018. AFP

How the fall of Assad has been a strategic loss for Russia

Russia's claim of being a steadfast guarantor of security for allies has been dented, which could affect its expansion into Africa and Latin America and strain its ties with Central Asian countries

Samer Elias 14 December 2024
Former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and his counterpart Elias Hrawi during their meeting in Damascus on March 14, 1998. AFP

Assad's fall could put Lebanon and Syria on divergent paths

The end of Assad's rule also means the end of his influence in Lebanon, and Lebanese politicians who served the interests of Damascus for decades could see their power drastically curtailed

Houssam Itani 13 December 2024
A woman inspects the cells of the famous Sednaya prison north of Damascus after the fall of the Assad regime.
 AP/Hussein Malla

Blood-curdling tales emerge from Assad's torture dungeons

Unravelling the horrors perpetrated in the darkest corners of Syria's prisons is chilling, nauseating, and crucial to understanding how this infernal machinery came into being—and continued operating

Samer Abou Hawwach 13 December 2024
Rebel forces shoot in the air as they celebrate in the central Syrian city of Homs early on December 8, 2024. Aref TAMMAWI / AFP

Is Syria heading for a bright new beginning or an even darker future?

Syrians are rejoicing over the overthrow of a despised dictator, but it could still be some time before they genuinely reap the benefits of liberation. The coming months will be telling.

Con Coughlin 11 December 2024
People hold a large Syrian opposition flag at Umayyad Square in Damascus on December 9, 2024. Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP

The history of Syria's not-so-new flag

A flag that has become synonymous with opposition to Assad rule was actually the flag of the first Syrian Republic under French mandate. Al Majalla debunks regime lies about what this flag represents.

Sami Moubayed 11 December 2024

Assad flees Syria after lightening opposition offensive

Fares Garabet 09 December 2024
A portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is pictured with its frame broken in a Syrian regime's Political Security Branch facility on the outskirts of the central city of Hama following its capture. OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP

Assad's fall: The end of an era

In just over a week, a lightning rebel offensive has collapsed five decades of draconian Assad rule. Al Majalla looks back at the political career of the former Syrian president.

Sami Moubayed 08 December 2024
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (right) at the G20 Summit on November 18, 2024, in Rio de Janeiro. ERIC LEE / AFP

Turkey tiptoes through the melee to soften al-Assad

Ankara and Damascus have been at daggers drawn for years but now have reasons to talk. Syria wants Turkish troops gone, while Turkey wants its Syrian refugees to go home. Let the bargaining begin.

Omer Onhon 26 November 2024
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attending the Arab summit in Riyadh, having been brought back in 'from the cold' by Arab leaders Reuters

Assad turns escalation in Gaza and Lebanon to his advantage

The Syrian president knows that war between Israel and Hezbollah will send diplomats hurriedly calling Damascus. After more than a decade in the diplomatic naughty corner, this is his moment

Haid Haid 19 August 2024
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Politics

Change is coming in Iran

09 January 2026

Khamenei has struck a defiant tone amid growing protests against his regime, but a series of regional setbacks, coupled with an emboldened Trump, could finally bring it down

Arash Azizi
Forces that seized control of the Second Military Region Command on the outskirts of Al Mukalla, the capital of Hadramout, on 3 January 2026. AFP
Politics

Saudi Arabia's red line in Yemen explained

08 January 2026

Overcoming Yemen's fragmentation requires more support for the Riyadh-led path—one that rejects secession, all militias and institutionalises the state

Abdullah F. Alrebh
Al Majalla
Politics

5 unanswered questions about Trump’s Venezuela plan

06 January 2026

Maduro's exit doesn't mean the end of his government

Ravi Agrawal
Buses wait to enter the Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood to evacuate US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) force fighters from two districts of the city of Aleppo, northern Syria, on 9 January 2026. Bakr ALkasem / AFP
Politics

Clashes in Aleppo may be the creaking before the earthquake

10 January 2026

If fighting spreads beyond the predominantly Kurdish neighbourhoods of Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud and beyond Aleppo, there is a real risk that Syria could be dragged into a new civil war

Omer Onhon
Al Majalla
Documents & Memoirs

Putin foreshadowed the Ukraine war in 2008 meeting with Bush

06 January 2026

Recently declassified meeting minutes between the two leaders show how Washington was well aware of Moscow's grievances over NATO expansion, but went ahead anyway

Samer Elias

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OPINIONS

Two remarkable stage productions at Riyadh Season

Asmahan Al-Sha’abouni
Asmahan Al-Sha’abouni

Egypt steps up its balancing act amid Yemen rift

Amr Emam
Amr Emam

What next for Syria after tenuous Aleppo ceasefire?

Haid Haid
Haid Haid

Clashes in Aleppo may be the creaking before the earthquake

Omer Onhon
Omer Onhon
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