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  • Syria

Demonstrators in the Syrian city of Sweida protest the deteriorating economic conditions on September 5, 2023. There was a city-wide boycott of the election. Reuters

Behind the façade: understanding Syria’s parliamentary election

This bureaucratic sham is meant to make the Assad regime look credible but instead just demonstrates its sclerosis. Little wonder most Syrians don't bother.

Haid Haid 24 July 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) in 2023. Russia has been mediating between Turkey and Syria. Mikhail Klimentyev/Reuters

First signs of a thaw? Russia nudges Erdoğan and Assad closer

The Turkish and Syrian presidents have not cared for one another in recent years. With Turkish soldiers on Syrian land, one has the upper hand. If pre-conditions can be ditched, will the leaders meet?

Omer Onhon 16 July 2024
A painting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez al-Assad, at an art gallery in Damascus, July 3, 2017. AFP

From socialism to drug hub: The evolution of Syria's economy

The Syrian Army's Fourth Division partners with an unlikely cast of characters to smuggle pills across borders while security men in Damascus raid currency exchanges. How did it come to this?

Mohamed abi Samra 03 July 2024
IS jihadists are currently active in at least 28 countries across the African continent. Lina Jaradat

Ten years after its inception, IS finds new sanctuary in Africa

Ten years ago, al-Baghdadi declared an Islamic Caliphate in Iraq and Syria. But after being largely defeated in the Middle East, the terrorist group has found new places to regroup around the world.

Charles Lister 29 June 2024
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on June 26, 2024, shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (R) meeting with the Russian President's special envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, in Damascus. SANA/AFP

Softened stances help grease the path to Turkey-Syria normalisation

Turkish and Syrian security officials are rumoured to have recently met at Latakia's Hmeimim air base under Russian auspices, where some cooperation agreements were reached

Omer Onhon 28 June 2024
Mohammed Mossadegh speaks during his trial on November 11, 1953, before the Military Tribunal of Tehran. AFP

A look at the short-lived 1953 Syria-Iran Friendship Pact

A pact signed by Iranian Premier Mohammad Mosaddegh and Syrian President Fawzi Selu quickly soured after the two leaders were toppled. Relations remained icy until Khomeini came to power in 1979.

Sami Moubayed 25 June 2024
A British 2-pounder anti-tank gun in action in Syria, June 1941. Courtesy of the Imperial War Museums

Syria has long been a battleground for foreign powers

Just like the current situation today, foreign powers fought each other in Syria 83 years ago. This is the story of how the Allied Powers took on Nazi Germany far from the European battleground.

Sami Moubayed 18 June 2024
American President Richard Nixon made an official visit to Damascus on June 15, 1974, and was welcomed by Syrian President Hafez al-Assad. Getty

This day in history: Nixon becomes first US president to visit Syria

In the midst of the Watergate scandal back home, Nixon needed a distraction. After years of isolation, his trip to Damascus on 15 June 1974 paved the way for future visits by US presidents.

Sami Moubayed 15 June 2024
The electricity crisis is both a symptom and a driver of Syria's economic decline. The country is caught in a vicious downward spiral. Shutterstock

Dark times: Syria struggles with increasingly longer power cuts

Electricity cuts are both a symptom and a driver of Syria's economic decline. The country is caught in a vicious downward spiral. Somehow, it needs to turn the tide.

Joseph Daher 27 May 2024
Al Majalla

Gemayel sends message of 'reassurance' to al-Assad

With an eye on the Lebanese presidency, the Phalange commander and sworn enemy of Syria sends secret messages of 'reassurance' to al-Assad. Meanwhile, Damascus refuses to host PLO fighters.

Ibrahim Hamidi 24 May 2024
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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
Ewan White
Politics

Iraq's internal battle for influence comes to a head

31 March 2026

New fronts have opened up across the region in light of the US-Israeli war on Iran, as non-state actors with links to Tehran fear for their futures

Rustum Mahmud
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

Drones vs interceptors: cost disparity sparks defence rethink

Al Majalla - London
Al Majalla - London

Will the 'Syria First' promise hold up under pressure?

Alia Mansour
Alia Mansour

New study finds deep sleep better than long sleep

Mohammed Mansour

The US-Iran war has thrown Asia into crisis

The Economist
The Economist
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