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  • Syria

Fghters from Bedouin tribes in western Sweida city on July 19, 2025. AFP

Sweida is a test case for competing visions for Syria

The outbreak of violence in Syria's south has jolted foreign powers into action. Russia's return there could bring more stability, but also threatens to undermine the US agenda

Caroline Rose 24 August 2025
A burned-out home in Sweida on 6 August 2025. Shelly Kittleson

What happened in Sweida? Grim testimonies revealed

Al Majalla visits the Druze-majority governorate, the scene of crimes allegedly committed at the behest of Damascus and speaks to citizens who relay the horrors they witnessed

Shelly Kittleson 19 August 2025
ويكبيديا

Syria's journey from union to state under French rule

First divided into mini-states, France later merged them into a federal union in 1922, which was a spectacular failure. In 1925, it was replaced by the Syrian state with Damascus as the capital.

Sami Moubayed 18 August 2025
Syrian Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and Turkish Defence Minister Yaşar Güler hold up an MOU on security cooperation in Ankara on August 13, 2025. Syrian Foreign Ministry

The implications of expanded Syria-Türkiye military ties

Israel has made clear its objection to Turkish military bases in Syria. Could a recently signed MOU between Ankara and Damascus to boost security cooperation threaten Türkiye's good ties with the US?

Omer Onhon 15 August 2025
Al Majalla

Damascus and the SDF in looming standoff over a 'new Syria'

Al Majalla offers two different perspectives on what lies ahead for relations between Damascus and the Kurds

Al Majalla - London 13 August 2025
The "Unity of Position" conference, held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Hasakah on August 8, 2025. Social media

Heading for a showdown? SDF conference riles Damascus

Syria's government needs to centralise decision-making and bring armed groups to heel, but Kurds in the north-east want to establish a 'coalition of the unwilling' with Druze and Alawites. What now?

Subhi Franjieh 13 August 2025
The largest Syrian flag was raised on the highest pole, 110 meters high, in Tishreen Park in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on June 4. Getty

Taif offers clues on the right governing formula for a new Syria

Questions of autonomy, integration, participation, and administration are key to resolving Syria's many disputes among its many groups. Could a 1989 agreement for Lebanon show the way?

Sihanouk Dibo 13 August 2025
Laura Salafia

Tom Barrack: the businessman with a huge Middle East remit

Donald Trump's ambassador to Türkiye and envoy to Syria has been having some critical conversations in regional capitals since April, from disarming Hezbollah to preventing another war with Israel

Omer Onhon 10 August 2025
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 19, 2023. Turkish Presidency Press Office / AFP

Israel and Türkiye must clarify their red lines on Syria

Discussions aimed at reaching a mutual understanding are vital to preventing miscalculation from either side

Michael Harari 08 August 2025
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
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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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