How a regional and international climate increasingly aligned with Damascus is placing pressure on the Syrian Democratic Forces to prioritise Syrian unity
Israeli media have painted the "defeat of the Kurds" as a win for Türkiye, while Israel's military worries that this may carry negative implications for its presence in the Golan
A decisive Syrian military campaign, coupled with diplomatic pressure from Türkiye, the US, and Israel, has forced the SDF into a far-reaching integration deal with Damascus
It remains unclear if Damascus's move to kick the Kurds out of Aleppo will pressure the SDF to implement the 10 March deal to integrate its forces into the Syrian army or harden its resolve to resist
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
The US has made it clear that securing a deal is a key priority, and it will be looking to pick up the pace of talks ahead of Israeli elections later this year
The latest demonstrations, killing four and injuring 100, reveal the limits of containment, the cost of postponing accountability, and the risks of trading short-term calm for durable legitimacy
London is making it clear that it expects more than just symbolic gestures from Damascus when it comes to holding security forces accountable for atrocities
The standoff in the Hormuz is not simply a question of whether Tehran can survive economic pressure, but whether Washington can sustain the pressure at an acceptable cost.
Many Israelis actually believe that they lost the war, with opposition leader Yair Lapid accusing the Israeli premier of having led the country into "strategic collapse and diplomatic catastrophe"
The Strait of Hormuz is now poised to become the primary arena of confrontation, with Iran relying on speedboat-driven guerrilla warfare to confront the US navy.
Former regime soldiers are stuck in limbo, as their undocumented status prevents them from working, travelling, and curbs family members' access to education, healthcare and social services