Syria’s civil war broke out in March 2011, in reaction to the brutal crackdown by the regime of Bashar al-Asad of popular protests that were part of the wider Arab Spring. In supporting the Syrian...
Turkey’s Syria policy didn’t materialize in a vacuum. Rather, it was a reaction to the Arab uprisings that began in January 2011, known as the Arab Spring, which Turkish policymakers interpreted as...
Ahmed al-Shara’s attempts to concentrate power and spurn Syria’s minorities are destabilizing the country.
Things are not getting any easier for Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and his fractured country. On August 18, hundreds of Druze demonstrated in the city of Suwayda — where they make up the...
The state’s suppression of St. Catherine’s is a microcosm of Egypt’s broader campaign against the country’s Christians—including my family.
Several Sunni Arab tribes in northeastern Syria, an area that encompasses 30 percent of Syrian territory and is currently under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have called...
The Syrian coastal massacres in March marked one of the deadliest violent episodes since the downfall of the Assad regime. An August 11 report by the United Nations’ Independent International Commission...
Latest Developments Military Memorandum Signed: Turkey’s Ministry of Defense has announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Syria for the training of Syrian troops and military...
Iran still seeks to project power in the Middle East — not only by arming proxies and smuggling oil but also by shaping regional parliaments and policies. Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s new Supreme...
On August 13, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that Turkish Minister of Defense Yasar Guler and Syrian Minister of Defense Murhaf Abu Qusra signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU)...
When Bashar al-Asad’s regime abruptly collapsed in December 2024, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan saw more than just a regional upheaval. He saw a long-awaited opportunity. With Iran’s...
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...
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...
Iraq has revived legislation regarding the Popular Mobilization Authority (PMA), the government agency that oversees the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The PMF, while legally an Iraqi government...
The recent sectarian violence shows that the Syrian government and its Turkish backers share a dangerous vision of a Sunni-dominant state.
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.