ع
Sections
  • Politics
  • Culture & Social Affairs
  • Business & Economy
  • Science & Technology
  • Documents & Memoirs
Regions
  • Gulf
  • MENA
  • Europe
  • USA
  • Asia
  • World
More
  • Videos
  • Cartoons
  • World in photos
  • Infographics
  • Profiles
  • Newsletter

LATEST ISSUE

Latest Issue
Magazine Archive
النسخة العربية
  • Politics
  • Culture & Social Affairs
  • Business & Economy
  • Science & Technology
  • Tag
  • Syria

the city of Sweida, following renewed fighting between Bedouin fighters and Druze gunmen, despite an announced truce, in Syria July 18, 2025. Reuters

Illicit economies play big role in Syria’s post-Assad flashpoints

In areas like Daraa and Sweida, local groups are elbowing their way into some of the smuggling voids left by Assad's army and pro-Iranian groups like Hezbollah. That means more to fight over.

Caroline Rose 02 August 2025
A currency exchange shop in the Syrian capital Damascus, on April 16, 2025. AFP

Towards a structural plan to drive development in Syria

Damascus is getting help from abroad, but it needs to set its economic stall out with a plan to rebuild its economy. An organised and disciplined fiscal and monetary policy will keep bankruptcy at bay

Hussein al-Sharaa 31 July 2025
Bedouin families who left Sweida take a shelter at a school in the village of El Sahoah in Deraa Governorate, Syria, July 28, 2025. Yamam Al Shaar / Reuters

Sweida violence: a good day for Israel, a bad day for Syria

Damascus fell into a trap when it sent its troops racing south as fighting erupted between Druze and Bedouins. Why? Because in Israel's arc of fragmentation, Syria is the last piece of the puzzle.

Majed Kayali 29 July 2025
a mural depicting Lebanese Druze politician Walid Jumblatt (bottom, R) and Syrian Druze nationalist leader Sultan al-Atrash, in the predominantly Druze city of Beit Jann on November 16, 2023. John MacDougall/AFP

Druze political figures who transformed Syrian history

For more than a century, Druze soldiers and politicians have made their mark on today's Syria. They are still writing their own history, as the recent Sweida violence shows.

Sami Moubayed 25 July 2025
A member of Syrian security forces stands near a vehicle carrying aid as they make their way to Sweida, at Bosra al-Sham town, near Deraa, Syria July 23, 2025. Karam al-Masri/Reuters

After Sweida: the path to peace just got more complicated

The terrible violence in southern Syria this month shows what needs to be done by all actors, and shows what fate awaits if they do not.

Michael Harari 24 July 2025
A member of the Internal Security Forces stands watch at a checkpoint in the village of Al-Mazra'a, after days of violence in Sweida between Bedouin fighters and Druze factions, on 20 July 2025. Karam al-Masri/Reuters

Solution needed: Sweida’s ceasefire is a pause, not peace

The guns may have fallen silent but in Syria's Druze-dominated southern city, they have enforced the status quo. That is dangerous, since it fails to recognise that Syria has now fundamentally changed

Haid Haid 21 July 2025
UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen backs the central government's desire for sovereignty over its territory but says that, in a transition period, this is best done through dialogue and by building trust. Al Majalla/AFP

UN envoy to Syria: true loyalty to the state cannot be coerced

Geir Pedersen condemns Israeli strikes and urges genuine dialogue between Syrian authorities and the local Druze community in Sweida.

Ibrahim Hamidi 18 July 2025
The Great Colonnade (Decumanus Maximus) at Palmyra, one of six Syrian sites on the UNESCO elite list of world heritage. All of them sustained some level of damage in the 13-year civil war. Omar Haj Kadour/AFP

The plundering of Syria's cultural heritage - Part 2

The second instalment of a two-part investigation into the unprecedented looting of Syria's archaeological sites, Al Majalla uncovers the destruction of a rich archaeological landscape

Abdul Rahman Mazhar Halloush 18 July 2025
US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf testifies during a hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee at the US Capitol on November 8, 2023. Alex Wong/Getty Images via AFP

Barbara Leaf: sectarian power-sharing not the answer in Syria

Al Majalla spoke to a seasoned diplomat who helped shape American policy on the Middle East during Joe Biden's presidency, asking her about Syria, US engagement, Iran, and Palestine.

Ahmed Maher 17 July 2025
A visitor makes sketches at Palmyra. During their occupation of the site from 2015, Islamic State (IS) jihadists reduced several temples, columns, and other treasures to heaps of stone. Omar Haj Kadour/AFP

The plundering of Syria’s cultural heritage - Part 1

The first instalment of a two-part investigation into the unprecedented looting of Syria's archaeological sites, Al Majalla uncovers the destruction of a rich archaeological landscape

Abdul Rahman Mazhar Halloush 16 July 2025
  •  Load More
  • Popular
  • Editor's Pick
People hold Cuban flags and a flag supporting US President Donald Trump while participating in the "Cuba Libre" demonstration in the city of Hialeah, Florida, on 24 March 2026. GIORGIO VIERA / AFP
Politics

Is the US on the verge of military intervention in Cuba?

24 May 2026

Seizing Castro could prove more costly and less effective than the capture of Maduro

William M. LeoGrande and Peter Kornbluh
Sara Padovan
Science & Technology

How fibre-optic drones are reshaping warfare

21 May 2026

Small, low-cost, and difficult to jam, they give traditional defence systems little time to respond

Marco Mossad
Protesters march during the "Rise Up for Gaza" international day of action at Washington Square Park, New York City, on 4 October 2025. Kena Betancur / AFP
Politics

US public opinion finally sours on Israel: what next?

22 May 2026

As support for Israel weakens across the US political spectrum, once-taboo questions about military aid, lobbying influence, and US backing are moving into the mainstream

Tarek Rashed
Lina Jaradat
Business & Economy

Europe eyes Algeria's shale gas amid supply crisis

22 May 2026

Algeria is one of Africa's largest producers of hydrocarbons, and its proximity to customers in Europe makes it of growing interest as importers fret over a prolonged supply crisis from countries

Rabia Abdul Salam
Lina Jaradat
Culture & Social Affairs

The extravagant Hajj caravans of the sultans’ wives

22 May 2026

Through extravagant processions led by palace women, the Mamluk state projected a message of power and prestige at home and abroad, turning the Hajj obligation into a soft-power tool

Yasmin Abdallah

Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter

Get the best of Al Majalla, straight to your inbox.

Your newsletter subscriptions are subject to Al Majalla privacy policy and terms and conditions.

OPINIONS

Is the US on the verge of military intervention in Cuba?

William M. LeoGrande and Peter Kornbluh
William M. LeoGrande and Peter Kornbluh

How fibre-optic drones are reshaping warfare

Marco Mossad
Marco Mossad

The extravagant Hajj caravans of the sultans’ wives

Yasmin Abdallah
Yasmin Abdallah

Has the US marked Cuba for regime change?

Fares Garabet
Fares Garabet
MORE FROM OPINIONS
logo
  • Politics
  • Culture & Social Affairs
  • Business & Economy
  • Science & Technology
  • Documents & Memoirs
  • Gulf
  • MENA
  • Europe
  • USA
  • Asia
  • World
  • Videos
  • Cartoons
  • World in photos
  • Infographics
  • Profiles
  • About Al Majalla
  • Al Majalla Team
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact us
logo

© Al Majalla Magazine. All Rights Reserved.

0:00:00
0:00:00