In late July, Turkish defense contractors used the 2025 International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF) to showcase the latest additions to the country’s arsenal. Headlining the event were two striking...
On August 3, clashes between local Druze militias, Sunni Arab tribal forces, and Syrian government troops in Syria’s Suwayda Governorate reignited after a two-week hiatus following a US-brokered...
SDF Clashes With Troops: The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) claimed on August 4 to have repelled an “attack” by “factions affiliated with the Syrian Transitional...
Syria’s endangered minorities deserve protection
The Syrian revolution was not an uprising for liberty, freedom, or democracy. It was a manifestation of Sunni Islamists, backed by Turkey and Qatar, venting their rage against the rule of Assad, supported...
Parliamentary elections in Syria will take place in September, Damascus announced on July 27 — but the people will not vote and presidential appointees will choose the winners. Interim President Ahmad...
Syria is a patchwork of identities, par for the course in a region where novel nationalities vie with tribe and religion for the citizenry’s loyalty. For most of the country’s history, the Assad family...
I woke to voice notes from Mazen, his Suwayda Druze dialect thick with tears. “Jolani’s ISIS are massacring us,” he said, referring to the forces of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly...
Syria after Bashar al-Assad is a country in chaos, but that does not mean it cannot get worse. One way that could happen would be a direct Turkish military intervention. Unfortunately, that is exactly...
The recent sectarian violence shows that the Syrian government and its Turkish backers share a dangerous vision of a Sunni-dominant state.
Picking and choosing between Druze leaders will prove counterproductive.
Billions From Riyadh: Saudi Arabia announced on July 24 new investments in Syria totaling $6.4 billion. The deal was confirmed at a conference in Damascus by Saudi Investment Minister...
Brigadier General Kevin Lambert took over as the new commander of the anti-Islamic State coalition of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) in a ceremony in Iraq on...
American Citizen Murdered: The State Department confirmed on July 22 that a Druze Syrian-American citizen was executed in Syria alongside seven of his family members, amidst sectarian clashes involving Druze and Bedouin factions along with Syrian government forces. Hosam Saraya, 35, was identified by relatives after video emerged of masked men in military uniforms shooting eight Druze captives on July 17 while shouting “God is great.” Though one friend of the Saraya family stated that he believed the gunmen were aligned with the Syrian government, their identities could not be confirmed.
Self-determination in the Middle East is inconsistent. For Muslim Palestinians, statehood is seen as an unfulfilled destiny. Yet for religious minorities like the Druze or ethnic groups like the Kurds,...
Syrian Government Imposes ‘Security Cordon’ for Suwayda: Syria’s government began evacuating Bedouin families from Suwayda and deployed security forces around its perimeter...
Defense Budget Increase: Israel will increase its defense spending by $12.5 billion, according to an announcement from the country’s ministries of finance and defense. The supplement...
Tensions in the Syrian governorate of Suwayda continue to rise following clashes between government forces and Druze militias affiliated with prominent Druze leader Hikmat al Hijri between July 14 and...
Israel’s Druze Test in Syria On July 16, the Israel Defense Forces carried out airstrikes in the heart of Damascus. The IDF said it had targeted Syria’s military headquarters and...
‘Protecting Our Druze Brothers’: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 17 laid out two red lines regarding Israel’s use of military force in Syria, following days...