As Syria’s first head of state to address the UN in nearly 60 years, Ahmad al-Sharaa promised a new chapter despite a host of challenges facing his divided country's political transition.
Planned talks between the AANES and Damascus were postponed this week, while efforts to implement the March 10 agreement remain slow and complex. Two separate delegations from the northeast aim to negotiate, while Damascus still rejects decentralization.
It took years for Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri to move from outward support for the Assad regime to cautious criticism and finally open opposition. With the new authorities in Damascus, he is taking an adversarial stance from the start.
Syrian women who participated in this week’s national dialogue conference in Damascus reflect on the event, its outcomes and women’s participation.
Longstanding disputes between the two largest Syrian Kurdish political blocs stymie efforts to form a unified political vision and send a delegation to negotiate with the transitional government in Damascus.
Women are notably absent from efforts by independent political formations to gain a foothold in opposition-held northwestern Syria, an area dominated by armed factions.
The Baath Party is working to restore its activities and role in Syria’s southern Daraa province, while its headquarters remain closed in many cities and towns six years after the return of regime institutions.
After facing major local, regional and international pushback—including a Turkish threat to invade northeastern Syria—the AANES postponed municipal elections scheduled for this week until August, citing “internal” reasons and "the demands of the political parties and alliances participating."
Abdurrahman Mustafa, the head of the Syrian Interim Government, was a relatively obscure figure with little background in politics before 2014. Today, he sits at the top of Syria’s political opposition, bolstered by major Turkish support. How did his star rise?
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited China for the first time in nearly 20 years this week, deepening ties between the two countries in the hopes of increased financial support that may not be forthcoming.
