Despite the fall of its long-time ally in Syria, Russia isn't retreating; it is adjusting—leveraging military assets and transactional diplomacy to pursue its strategic interests across the region
A national army was formed in August 1945 from remnants of French Troupes Speciales. In December 2024, the army fell apart amid a lightning HTS-led offensive that toppled the regime.
Syria's new interim president seems to be wavering between two choices: maintain ties with Moscow despite domestic and international opposition or sever ties and risk alienating a global power
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdoğan are both concerned about Kurdish separatism for slightly different reasons. What will they do about it?
Some are happy to do so, some may need coaxing, and others have completely ruled it out. Al Majalla gives an overview of the different armed factions and what they want.
HTS's recent overthrow of the Assad regime recalls the key role militias played throughout history—from Sudan's recent civil war all the way back to the American Revolution. Al Majalla explains.
The visit of a Syrian president to Saudi Arabia in 1945 ushered in a new era in the region. Will the visit of Syria's new president on 2 February also be the start of a new chapter?
The US can either undertake major sanctions relief that allows for significant cash flow and economic normalisation for the new Syria or utilise it as leverage against the new HTS-led government
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.
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.
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
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
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