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النسخة العربية
  • Politics
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  • Syria

Husni al-Za'im

This day in history: The mother of all Syrian coups

On 29 March, 1949, Husni al-Zaim overthrew the government of Shukri al-Quwatli, sparking a vicious cycle of coups and countercoups for decades to come

Sami Moubayed 29 March 2025
A fighter loyal to the interim Syrian government poses for a picture outside an armoured vehicle in the Zahra district of Syria's west-central city of Homs on January 4, 2025. OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP

Future scenarios and red lines for the foreign fighters in Syria

Alongside the Syrians who ousted Assad in December were Chechens, Uyghurs, Arabs, Europeans, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Turks, and Albanians, to name but a few. What next for them?

Abbas Sharifa 28 March 2025
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa signs a constitutional declaration at the presidential palace in Damascus on March 13, 2025. Bakr ALKASEM / AFP

Where does Syria stand after three months of Sharaa rule?

If the interim government fails to deliver on promises of stability and prosperity, divisions will deepen, tensions will rise, and Syria could once again descend into violent unrest

Haid Haid 24 March 2025
Al Majalla

The foreign agendas competing for Syria's future

Some predict partition, others federalism or fragmentation. Amidst the competing interests of Arab states, Russia, the US, Israel, Iran, Türkiye, and Europe, Syria treads its own path

Ibrahim Hamidi 22 March 2025
Children stand on a hill overlooking the camp of Atme for displaced people, on the outskirts of Idlib in northwestern Syria, on February 5, 2025, nearly two months after Islamist-led rebels toppled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Bakr ALKASEM / AFP

Idlib rises from the rubble, but sanctions still sting

Al Majalla spent several days talking to civilians, fighters, and the former interior minister in the province where Syria's new leaders honed their modes of governance

Shelly Kittleson 18 March 2025
People walk past damaged vehicles, as Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa grapples with the fallout from reported mass killings of Alawite minority members, in Jableh, Syria March 12, 2025. REUTERS/Karam al-Masri

Syria coastal violence: A critical test for Sharaa's government

The legitimacy of Sharaa's government will depend on whether it upholds the rule of law or reverts to the same repressive tactics as the Assad regime that he toppled

Haid Haid 17 March 2025
‭A sign depicting Syrian Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri is seen in Sweida, Syria, on February‬ 25, 2025. Yamam al Shaar /Reuters‬

Attempts to revive the Syrian Druze "state project" in history

The issue of the Druze mountain predates the modern Syrian state itself, but has resurfaced following recent Israeli statements about their intent to "protect" Syria's Druze

Sami Moubayed 16 March 2025
A member of the former rebel group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham stands guard near an image of Syria's Bashar al-Assad at the fourth division headquarters in Damascus, Syria, January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar

My Syria visit: Rays of hope and fears for the future

In his first visit in 13 years, former US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford shares his reflections about the war-torn country following Assad's fall

Robert Ford 15 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

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
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People shout slogans as they gather after a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war was announced, in Tehran, Iran, 8 April 2026. Majid Asgaripour / Reuters
Politics

US-Iran ceasefire unlikely to hold

07 April 2026

If the ceasefire collapses, China has an interest in getting the two sides back to the table, but it would be a difficult task given Tehran's deep mistrust of the US and Israel.

Xiaotong Yang
Grace Russell
Politics

Gulf states should steer clear of attritional war traps

01 April 2026

The US-Israeli war against Iran aims to draw in Gulf states, but history has shown that entering wars is far easier than exiting them. Prudence is needed now more than ever.

Khairuldeen Al Makhzoomi
Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin speaks at a press conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 25 August, 2025. Luka Dakskobler / Getty
Politics

'Israel is exploiting Iran war to kill a Palestinian state'

01 April 2026

PA Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin tells Al Majalla that Israel is taking advantage of the fact that the world is distracted by the US-Iran war to create irreversible facts on the ground

Ahmed Maher
People gather during a celebration called by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) at the Umayyad Square, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, 20 December, 2024. Reuters / Ammar
Business & Economy

US-Iran war gives Syria's global economic pitch more urgency

01 April 2026

Given the effective closure of the Hormuz Strait and Houthi threats to close off the Red Sea, Syria may emerge as a corridor and conduit to bypass these embattled maritime chokepoints

Charles Lister
Farid al-Madhan Reuters/ Al Majalla
Politics

Farid al-Madhan: Assad's fingerprints were on every picture

31 March 2026

A former army forensics employee who later became known as Caesar tells Al Majalla how he risked his life to expose the torture and killing of countless Syrians in regime prisons

Ibrahim Hamidi

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OPINIONS

US-Iran ceasefire unlikely to hold

Xiaotong Yang
Xiaotong Yang

A new look at Islam, integration, and secularism in France

Rim Abdel Hamid
Rim Abdel Hamid

The US-Iran war tanked Trump's popularity at home

Brian Katulis
Brian Katulis

Drones vs interceptors: cost disparity sparks strategy rethink

Al Majalla - London
Al Majalla - London
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