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  • SDF

AFP_Al Majalla

Forging Syrian national unity is key to regional peace

Damascus has already taken steps towards this end, but international support will still be vital. It can also draw on relevant elements from Iraq's governing model.

James Jeffrey 22 October 2025
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
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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US President Donald Trump at the White House, Washington, on 18 November 2025.
 SPA
Politics

Saudi Arabia scores ally upgrade in Washington

19 November 2025

Trump elevates Saudi Arabia to 'major non-NATO ally' status, but bigger issues of normalisation with Israel and a binding security treaty need more time. Nonetheless, this is a huge step forward.

Abdullah F. Alrebh
Lina Jaradat
Business & Economy

Hezbollah money laundering risks sanctions on Lebanon

17 November 2025

Media reports show pro-Hezbollah charities using online platforms to solicit donations via digital wallets to circumvent sanctions. In Lebanon's cash economy, that is a dangerous game to play.

Thuraya Shahin
Al Majalla's Editor-in-Chief Ibrahim Hamidi interviews Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani on 13 November 2025. Axel Rangel Garcia
Politics

Asaad Shaibani on how Syria untangled its Russian knot

18 November 2025

In Part 1 of a two-part interview with Al Majalla, Syria's foreign minister explains how the Assad regime fell and how President Ahmed al-Sharaa went from a wanted man to a world leader

Ibrahim Hamidi
Go Nagai with a 'Grendizer' poster
 AL MAJALLA/ AFP
Culture & Social Affairs

50 years on, 'Grendizer' still stirs Arab hearts

23 November 2025

The Arab world's connection to the cartoon series remains uniquely intimate. No other animated comic hero has achieved the same level of fame, resonance, and longevity.

Shadi Alaa Aldin
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) looks on during a meeting with US Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 20 November 2025. AFP
Politics

Trump presents Ukraine with a ‘very tough choice’

24 November 2025

Zelensky said he's being asked to decide between Ukraine losing its dignity or losing a key partner

Sam Skove and John Haltiwanger

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OPINIONS

War robs the global economy of trillions

Al Majalla - London
Al Majalla - London

50 years on, 'Grendizer' still stirs Arab hearts

Shadi Alaa Aldin
Shadi Alaa Aldin

Trump presents Ukraine with a ‘very tough choice’

Sam Skove and John Haltiwanger
Sam Skove and John Haltiwanger

The promise of expanded US-Saudi ties

Brian Katulis
Brian Katulis
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