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  • SDF

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

SDF on shaky ground in new Syria

Fares Garabet 23 December 2024
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. AFP

Turkey warns neighbours and NATO partner after Ankara attack

Increased cross-border operations have followed an attack claimed by the PKK in Ankara as frustration grows over the seeming unwillingness of allies to admit links and act accordingly

Shelly Kittleson 05 October 2023
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Politics

Locked and loaded: what is Trump's endgame in Iran?

29 January 2026

Whether American military action triggers a rapid collapse of Iran's regime or gradually erodes it over time, all paths lead to one destination: the end of the Islamic Republic

Futoshi Matsumoto
Palestinian children peek out of holes in their tent at a makeshift displacement camp set up amid building rubble in Gaza City on 12 May 2025. Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP
Culture & Social Affairs

'Life' in a tent pushes the bounds of Gazan endurance

26 January 2026

Those who somehow managed to survive starvation, bombs and disease now face a punishing winter in 'shelters' as battered as Palestinian existence itself

Hala Al-Naji
Al Majalla
Politics

Unifying Syria without reigniting war

30 January 2026

Following the signing of a comprehensive integration agreement, stabilising the region hinges on whether the country can be unified without repression

James Jeffrey
Sara Gironi Carnevale
Documents & Memoirs

Could Trump actually buy Greenland?

30 January 2026

If history is any indication, then yes. While much of modern-day America was acquired through conquest, large chunks of the country were also bought from reluctant sellers under pressure.

Steve Hewitt
Lebanese pop star Haifa Wehbe performs during the Batroun International Festival in the coastal city of Batroun, north of Beirut. ANWAR AMRO / AFP
Culture & Social Affairs

Lebanon finds an anthem out of the reach of drones

26 January 2026

The economy is a mess and the politics are askew but the Lebanese are once again learning how to celebrate, these days to the tune of Badna Nrou, meaning 'We need to calm down'

Samer Abou Hawwach

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OPINIONS

Trump's only Iran option

Bilal Saab
Bilal Saab

How the US got the SDF to capitulate to Damascus

Ibrahim Hamidi
Ibrahim Hamidi

Fleeing Gaza: artists open up about survivors' guilt

Houssam Marouf
Houssam Marouf

The expiry of New START risks nuclear Armageddon

Samer Elias
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