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Al Majalla

Ilham Ahmed on negotiating Syria’s future

In a wide-ranging sitdown interview with Al Majalla, AANES Foreign Affairs Chief Ilham Ahmed lays out the lingering points of contention with Damascus and the way forward

Ibrahim Hamidi 03 October 2025
The "Unity of Position" conference, held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Hasakah on August 8, 2025. Social media

Heading for a showdown? SDF conference riles Damascus

Syria's government needs to centralise decision-making and bring armed groups to heel, but Kurds in the north-east want to establish a 'coalition of the unwilling' with Druze and Alawites. What now?

Subhi Franjieh 13 August 2025
The largest Syrian flag was raised on the highest pole, 110 meters high, in Tishreen Park in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on June 4. Getty

Taif offers clues on the right governing formula for a new Syria

Questions of autonomy, integration, participation, and administration are key to resolving Syria's many disputes among its many groups. Could a 1989 agreement for Lebanon show the way?

Sihanouk Dibo 13 August 2025
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters sit on a vehicle in the north of Raqqa city, Syria. Reuters

Fading hopes that the SDF will agree to Syrian integration

The autonomous Kurdish-led group in Syria's north-east has been protected by the US for a decade, but the move now is towards integration with Damascus. Unfortunately, the SDF has not got the memo.

Charles Lister 11 July 2025
SDF leader Mazloum Abdi (C) and Hamid Darbandi (C-R behind), envoy of Iraqi Kurdish politician Masoud Barzani, attend the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria on April 26, 2025. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP

In U-turn, Syrian Kurds are now demanding federalism

Having agreed on an outline for integration with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa last month, Kurdish-led groups have now issued a raft of contradictory demands, angering both Damascus and Ankara

Omer Onhon 30 April 2025
The US-led Operation Inherent Resolve coalition against the Islamic State (IS) trains SDF fighters in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on September 7, 2022. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP

Where does the counter-IS mission stand after Sharaa-SDF deal?

An SDF shift away from the US partnership and the risk of IS resurgence could undo years of hard-won progress in the fight against terrorism

Caroline Rose 21 April 2025
Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi during the signing of the agreement to integrate the SDF into state institutions, Damascus, March 10, 2025. AFP

Reading between the lines of the Sharaa-Abdi deal

Al Majalla's exclusive interview with YPG commander Mazloum Abdi gives great insight into a landmark deal reached between Damascus and Syria's Kurds. This is my take on what Abdi really meant.

Omer Onhon 14 March 2025
Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi during the signing of the agreement to integrate the SDF into state institutions, Damascus, March 10, 2025. AFP

Sharaa's political pragmatism and the myth of sectarianism

After a hugely important deal to integrate Syria's Kurds, there is a growing realisation among myriad factions that national unity is crucial for the country's survival

Ahmed Maher 13 March 2025
Yusra Na'im

Mazloum Abdi agrees to merge the SDF into Syria's state army

Al Majalla interviewed the SDF commander who shared his thinking prior to the landmark decision, which also guarantees constitutional rights for Syrian Kurds

Ibrahim Hamidi 11 March 2025
A man walks close to a fire raging at a facility in al-Qahtaniyah in northeastern Syria close to the Turkish border on October 5, 2023.

SDF-HTS standoff: Best and worst-case scenarios

While solving the SDF situation in itself will not guarantee success for the larger Syria project, failing to integrate them will almost certainly torpedo that project

James Jeffrey 31 January 2025
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Nesma Moharam
Politics

Two years after October 7

06 October 2025

Al Majalla examines the repercussions of Hamas's attack on Israel, which set into motion a series of significant changes and power shifts in the Middle East

Al Majalla - London
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) visits the polling station where members of Syrian local committees have been casting their votes to select members of an interim parliament, in Damascus on October 5, 2025. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP
Politics

Cheers and jeers as Syria votes in first post-Assad parliament

06 October 2025

Only 4% of 119 members selected in the indirect vote were women, and only two Christians, sparking concerns about inclusivity and fairness. Meanwhile, voting was postponed in Druze and Kurdish areas.

Subhi Franjieh
Al Majalla
Politics

Allies' anger over Gaza tests US support for Israel

03 October 2025

Trump may be willing to accept global isolation to keep supporting Israel, but at some point, he may conclude that he isn't getting enough from Netanyahu in return

Christopher Phillips
A shopkeeper looks out through a window displaying replicas of football trophies at a gift shop in Souq Waqif bazaar in Doha on July 24, 2025. Karim JAAFAR / AFP
Business & Economy

Qatar’s economic resilience and the road ahead

07 October 2025

Qatar is positioning itself not only to weather external shocks, but to thrive in a changing global environment

Neil Quilliam
© Fine Art Images/Heritage Images via Getty Images
Culture & Social Affairs

Morocco's influence on Matisse

02 October 2025

The famed painter (1869-1954) found both himself and the inspiration he needed in two visits to Tangier in the early 20th century, the effects of which are still very evident.

Azeddine Bourkia

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OPINIONS

Türkiye poised to strengthen its hand in the Eastern Mediterranean

Michael Harari
Michael Harari

Qatar’s economic resilience and the road ahead

Neil Quilliam
Neil Quilliam

Morocco’s Gen Z takes to the streets demanding change

Mohamed Sharki
Mohamed Sharki

Will Lebanon miss its chance at good ties with Syria?

Alia Mansour
Alia Mansour
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