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Arab News
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Syria at a crossroads
Syria today stands on the cusp of a transformative chapter in its modern history. More than seven months after the ousting of Bashar Assad, the country has sworn in a new transitional government led by President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, marking a significant departure from decades of autocratic rule. The new leadership has promised inclusivity and reform, appointing a diverse Cabinet that, for the first time, includes women and representatives of minority groups. One such appointment, Hind Kabawat as minister of social affairs, signals a break from past patterns of exclusion. The regional response has been swift and, in many ways, optimistic. Arab capitals, once divided over how to deal with Damascus, are now reengaging with renewed purpose. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have announced debt relief and economic assistance packages. Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan have exchanged high-level visits, while Qatar has signaled conditional openness pending progress on political inclusivity and refugee return. Meanwhile, the UK has reestablished full diplomatic ties with Damascus and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in May met his Syrian counterpart in Antalya, Turkiye. These moves reflect a broader recalibration in regional politics. Rather than isolating Syria indefinitely, Arab states are now betting that constructive engagement may offer a more effective route to stability. But this raises a crucial question: Will normalization catalyze real reform or simply entrench the status quo under a new name? There are reasons for cautious optimism. The new Syrian government, backed by a coalition of opposition groups and civil society figures, has laid out a transitional roadmap that includes constitutional reform, the decentralization of power and the phased return of refugees in cooperation with UN agencies. Local reconciliation efforts are underway in formerly besieged areas like Deraa and Eastern Ghouta, while independent media outlets have cautiously resumed operations under a new press law passed in March. Internationally, Syria's foreign policy posture is also shifting. Damascus has signaled openness to rejoining global institutions and has expressed an interest in negotiating a framework for peace with Israel — though talks remain in their infancy. Meanwhile, the Syrian Democratic Forces have agreed to a partial integration with the Syrian army under a unified military command, part of a broader security sector reform process that is seen as key to long-term stability. Despite these steps, deep skepticism remains. Critics argue that without meaningful accountability for past atrocities, normalization could whitewash systemic abuses and undermine the pursuit of justice. Families of detainees and victims of war crimes have voiced concerns that the Arab League's embrace of Damascus may have come too soon — before meaningful progress on human rights is achieved. Arab states are betting that constructive engagement may offer a more effective route to stability. Hani Hazaimeh Moreover, the country's economic recovery remains fragile. Syria's infrastructure is shattered, unemployment is high and inflation has driven much of the population into poverty. Billions of dollars in reconstruction aid are needed, but many Western governments are conditioning support on further political liberalization and the protection of civil liberties. There is also concern that regional powers may prioritize stability over reform — engaging with Damascus to curb foreign influence or to stem refugee flows, while turning a blind eye to domestic stagnation. The challenge, therefore, is to ensure that normalization is not an end in itself, but a lever to drive real change. The future of Syria is not just a Syrian question — it is a regional imperative. A stable, sovereign and inclusive Syria could help contain cross-border militancy, revitalize trade corridors and restore a degree of political coherence to the Levant. But if normalization merely restores a rebranded autocracy, it risks perpetuating the conditions that led to Syria's implosion in the first place. Arab states now face a delicate balancing act: how to engage constructively with Damascus while insisting on measurable progress toward political transition, the rule of law and reconciliation. The international community, for its part, must continue to support Syrian civil society, empower local governance and advocate for the rights of refugees and displaced persons. Syria's return to the Arab fold presents both an opportunity and a test. If managed responsibly, normalization could offer a lifeline to a country ravaged by war, helping it rebuild institutions and reclaim its place in the region. But if approached with complacency or driven by narrow geopolitical interests, it risks legitimizing stagnation and silencing the voices of those who demand dignity, justice and freedom. Syria is at a crossroads. What happens next will determine whether it finally steps onto the path of national healing or remains trapped in a cycle of broken promises.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Deadly church attack raises security fears for Syrians, minorities
Sunday's deadly attack on the Mar Elias Church in Damascus has shaken Syria, and particularly the country's Christians. The attack on Sunday killed at least 25 people, after a man with a rifle entered the church and shot at worshippers, before detonating a suicide bomb. It has raised questions about the ability of the new Syrian government to manage security in the country and protect its citizens, including those from minority groups. The Syrian Interior Ministry blamed ISIL (ISIS) for the attack, though another group called Saraya Ansar al-Sunna later claimed it. Government officials described the attack as an attempt to undermine their efforts to establish a state following the fall of longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad in December. 'Sedition is happening,' Hind Kabawat, Syria's Social and Labour Affairs minister, told Syria TV from a Damascus hospital, as she fought back tears. 'All Christians and Muslims and all Syrians need to be strong today. This is a big wound, and our pain is big.'While the target of the attack was a church – the first of its kind against a Syrian church since the fall of the al-Assad regime – it serves as a reminder of the precarious security situation the country still finds itself in, affecting all Syrians, as the government attempts to provide stability. 'It's very dangerous,' Abu Hassan, a Damascus resident, told Al Jazeera by phone. He said that he was wary of more attacks taking place as part of an attempt to sow disunity between Syria's Christians and Muslims. '[The attacks] won't disappear,' he said. 'There will be more blood. May God protect this country.' The end of the al-Assad regime, following a more than 13-year war in which hundreds of thousands died, was welcomed by most Syrians. The al-Assad dynasty – Bashar had been preceded as president by his father Hafez – had effectively built one of the world's most brutal police states, with a vast network of competing security and intelligence branches that terrorised much of the local population. The man who has replaced Bashar al-Assad as president is Ahmed al-Sharaa. His own background – as a former member of al-Qaeda who led the now-disbanded Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in the latter years of the war – led many Syrians to express doubts and concerns over his rule of such a religiously and ethnically diverse state. Al-Sharaa has repeatedly promised to protect minorities and build an inclusive state for Syrians of all backgrounds and religions. But a series of events in the interim has sown distrust between the ruling authorities and some members of religious minority groups. Massacres committed in the Alawite-dominated coastal region in March, followed by clashes between government-affiliated forces and Druze militias in May, rocked some of the goodwill and faith the new authorities had built up. The Mar Elias Church attack is, of course, different in that it was perpetrated by an enemy of the new government. But it has still contributed to the doubt felt by some that the security situation in Syria can improve – particularly, although not exclusively, for minorities. And that uncertainty is even pushing some minorities to consider that they may have to abandon their homes in Syria and leave the country. For many observers, ultimately, the buck stops with the authorities. 'The government will be judged based on what they are doing and how they solve the [security] issue,' Jerome Drevon, the International Crisis Group's senior analyst on jihad and modern conflict, told Al Jazeera, 'including the issue of religious minorities and how they protect them'.The government has said that it was able to thwart two other planned attacks by the same cell that was behind the Mar Elias attack, one of which was going to target a Shia Muslim shrine in Damascus. ISIL has yet to claim the attack, but is reportedly making inroads in Syria. The group had controlled vast swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq as part of its self-declared 'caliphate' before a United States-led campaign defeated it in 2019, and forced its remnants to the peripheries. Drevon said that the group had been mostly present in Syria's eastern desert in recent years, until US air strikes and Syrian government expansion led them to push into cities. ISIL now acts less as a hierarchical organisation and more as a network of independent cells, Drevon said, making it difficult to fully eradicate it. 'There is to some extent a security vacuum because there are not enough forces to man the full country,' Drevon said. Still, there is also room for positivity. Drevon noted that the government has had some success quelling insurgents and, as collaboration with foreign governments improves, so too will its intelligence and ability to thwart local attacks. 'There are cases of violence, of course, but the level of violence is very far from what we expected six months ago,' Drevon said. 'Even Western countries can't fully prevent armed attacks.' Analysts say Syrian authorities have been focused not just on preventing attacks from groups like ISIL, but also on stopping domestic insurrections, much like the one along Syria's coast in March sparked by supporters of al-Assad, which then descended into sectarian killing and massacres. Additionally, the new authorities are trying to improve their intelligence capabilities and means of collaborating and receiving intelligence from foreign countries. Drevon said it was important for foreign governments to collaborate with the new administration on intelligence to confront what is likely to be a growing threat from ISIL in the coming months. But beyond the question of the state's capacity to fight radical groups is also the importance of amplifying the message that religious and ethnic minorities are equal citizens in Syria, said Robin Yassin-Kassab, a Syrian writer. The overthrow of al-Assad was popular among Syrians, and the months that have followed have allowed for a new narrative of unity to emerge in the country. But that can quickly go away – particularly if people do not feel that justice is being carried out for the victims of all crimes, including ones committed by those aligned with the state. After the violence on the coast and in heavily Druze-populated areas, al-Sharaa's government formed committees to investigate and assign responsibility for the violence and deaths. The new authorities have occasionally also arrested people accused of perpetrating or coordinating violence. But some Syrians still don't feel there is a transparent process or messaging in distributing justice clearly, fairly and equally. '[There is] no clear message that perpetrators will be arrested and punished for committing crimes and it doesn't matter which political group or what identity, sect or regime, you are affiliated with, you will be punished,' Yassin-Kassab told Al Jazeera. 'That's still not clear.'
Al Jazeera
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Deadly church attack raises security fears for Syrians, minorities
Sunday's deadly attack on the Mar Elias Church in Damascus has shaken Syria, and particularly the country's Christians. The attack on Sunday killed at least 25 people, after a man with a rifle entered the church and shot at worshippers, before detonating a suicide bomb. It has raised questions about the ability of the new Syrian government to manage security in the country and protect its citizens, including those from minority groups. The Syrian Interior Ministry blamed ISIL (ISIS) for the attack, though another group called Saraya Ansar al-Sunna later claimed it. Government officials described the attack as an attempt to undermine their efforts to establish a state following the fall of longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad in December. 'Sedition is happening,' Hind Kabawat, Syria's Social and Labour Affairs minister, told Syria TV from a Damascus hospital, as she fought back tears. 'All Christians and Muslims and all Syrians need to be strong today. This is a big wound, and our pain is big.' Fears in Syria While the target of the attack was a church – the first of its kind against a Syrian church since the fall of the al-Assad regime – it serves as a reminder of the precarious security situation the country still finds itself in, affecting all Syrians, as the government attempts to provide stability. 'It's very dangerous,' Abu Hassan, a Damascus resident, told Al Jazeera by phone. He said that he was wary of more attacks taking place as part of an attempt to sow disunity between Syria's Christians and Muslims. '[The attacks] won't disappear,' he said. 'There will be more blood. May God protect this country.' The end of the al-Assad regime, following a more than 13-year war in which hundreds of thousands died, was welcomed by most Syrians. The al-Assad dynasty – Bashar had been preceded as president by his father Hafez – had effectively built one of the world's most brutal police states, with a vast network of competing security and intelligence branches that terrorised much of the local population. The man who has replaced Bashar al-Assad as president is Ahmed al-Sharaa. His own background – as a former member of al-Qaeda who led the now-disbanded Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in the latter years of the war – led many Syrians to express doubts and concerns over his rule of such a religiously and ethnically diverse state. Al-Sharaa has repeatedly promised to protect minorities and build an inclusive state for Syrians of all backgrounds and religions. But a series of events in the interim has sown distrust between the ruling authorities and some members of religious minority groups. Massacres committed in the Alawite-dominated coastal region in March, followed by clashes between government-affiliated forces and Druze militias in May, rocked some of the goodwill and faith the new authorities had built up. The Mar Elias Church attack is, of course, different in that it was perpetrated by an enemy of the new government. But it has still contributed to the doubt felt by some that the security situation in Syria can improve – particularly, although not exclusively, for minorities. And that uncertainty is even pushing some minorities to consider that they may have to abandon their homes in Syria and leave the country. For many observers, ultimately, the buck stops with the authorities. 'The government will be judged based on what they are doing and how they solve the [security] issue,' Jerome Drevon, the International Crisis Group's senior analyst on jihad and modern conflict, told Al Jazeera, 'including the issue of religious minorities and how they protect them'. Need for justice The government has said that it was able to thwart two other planned attacks by the same cell that was behind the Mar Elias attack, one of which was going to target a Shia Muslim shrine in Damascus. ISIL has yet to claim the attack, but is reportedly making inroads in Syria. The group had controlled vast swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq as part of its self-declared 'caliphate' before a United States-led campaign defeated it in 2019, and forced its remnants to the peripheries. Drevon said that the group had been mostly present in Syria's eastern desert in recent years, until US air strikes and Syrian government expansion led them to push into cities. ISIL now acts less as a hierarchical organisation and more as a network of independent cells, Drevon said, making it difficult to fully eradicate it. 'There is to some extent a security vacuum because there are not enough forces to man the full country,' Drevon said. Still, there is also room for positivity. Drevon noted that the government has had some success quelling insurgents and, as collaboration with foreign governments improves, so too will its intelligence and ability to thwart local attacks. 'There are cases of violence, of course, but the level of violence is very far from what we expected six months ago,' Drevon said. 'Even Western countries can't fully prevent armed attacks.' Analysts say Syrian authorities have been focused not just on preventing attacks from groups like ISIL, but also on stopping domestic insurrections, much like the one along Syria's coast in March sparked by supporters of al-Assad, which then descended into sectarian killing and massacres. Additionally, the new authorities are trying to improve their intelligence capabilities and means of collaborating and receiving intelligence from foreign countries. Drevon said it was important for foreign governments to collaborate with the new administration on intelligence to confront what is likely to be a growing threat from ISIL in the coming months. But beyond the question of the state's capacity to fight radical groups is also the importance of amplifying the message that religious and ethnic minorities are equal citizens in Syria, said Robin Yassin-Kassab, a Syrian writer. The overthrow of al-Assad was popular among Syrians, and the months that have followed have allowed for a new narrative of unity to emerge in the country. But that can quickly go away – particularly if people do not feel that justice is being carried out for the victims of all crimes, including ones committed by those aligned with the state. After the violence on the coast and in heavily Druze-populated areas, al-Sharaa's government formed committees to investigate and assign responsibility for the violence and deaths. The new authorities have occasionally also arrested people accused of perpetrating or coordinating violence. But some Syrians still don't feel there is a transparent process or messaging in distributing justice clearly, fairly and equally. '[There is] no clear message that perpetrators will be arrested and punished for committing crimes and it doesn't matter which political group or what identity, sect or regime, you are affiliated with, you will be punished,' Yassin-Kassab told Al Jazeera. 'That's still not clear.'
Euronews
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Suicide bomber kills at least 22 in Greek Orthodox church in Syria
A suicide bomber in Syria on Sunday opened fire before detonating an explosive vest inside a Greek Orthodox church filled with people praying, killing at least 22 and wounding 63 others, local media reported. The attack took place inside the Mar Elias Church in Dweil'a, on the outskirts of Damascus, the Syrian capital. The church bombing was the first of its sort in Syria in years, and it comes amid Damascus's efforts to gain support from minorities under its de facto Islamist government. SANA, the Syrian state media outlet, shared a picture of the church's pews covered in blood and debris. Although no group immediately claimed responsibility on Sunday, the Syrian Interior Ministry said their preliminary investigation points to the extremist Islamic State group. The ministry said one gunman entered the church, fired at the people there before detonating himself with an explosive vest, echoing some witness testimonies. 'The security of places of worship is a red line,' he said, adding that IS and remaining members of the ousted Assad government are trying to destabilise Syria. Syrian Information Minister Hamza Mostafa condemned the attack, calling it a terrorist attack. 'This cowardly act goes against the civic values that bring us together,' he said on X. 'We will not back down from our commitment to equal citizenship … and we also affirm the state's pledge to exert all its efforts to combat criminal organizations and to protect society from all attacks threatening its safety.' First responders and security personnel hurried to the church. One woman collapsed to her knees and started crying while terrified survivors cried out. Witnesses said the gunman, with his face covered, entered and fired at the people. When a crowd charged at him to remove him from the church, he detonated his explosives at the entrance. Some local media reported that children were among the casualties. Meanwhile, Syria's Social Affairs and Labour Minister Hind Kabawat, the country's Christian and female minister, said she met with the clergy at the church in the evening to express her condolences. Some 350 people were praying at the church, according to Father Fadi Ghattas, who said he saw at least 20 people killed with his own eyes. 'People were praying safely under the eyes of God,' he said. However, one church priest claimed there was a second gunman who shot at the church door before the other person detonated himself. Security forces and first responders rushed to the church. Panicked survivors wailed as one lady fell to her knees and burst into tears. A photo circulated by Syrian state media SANA showed the church's pews covered in debris and blood. As President Ahmad al-Sharaa struggles to exert authority across the country, there have been concerns about the presence of sleeper cells of extremist groups in the war-torn country.
Zawya
05-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Jordan: Labour minister discusses cooperation with Syrian, Lebanese counterparts on sidelines of ILO Conference
AMMAN — Minister of Labour Khaled Bakkar has met with Syria's Minister of Social Affairs and Labour Hind Kabawat to explore aspects of cooperation between the two countries. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 113th session of the International Labour Conference currently being held in Geneva, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported, citing a Ministry of Labour statement on Tuesday. Discussions covered several topics, including the labour inspection system and its development, the 'Himayah' electronic platform for labour complaints, social security, and Jordan's expertise and potential future cooperation in this area. Talks during the meeting also addressed partnerships with the private sector to establish academies that train and equip youth with market-relevant skills. Bakkar reviewed key government programmes and initiatives aimed at boosting private-sector employment opportunities for youth, such as the National Employment Programme and the Satellite Branches Initiative, which contribute to employing Jordanians and localising development in rural and Badia regions. Both ministers stressed the 'deep-rooted and historical' relations between the two nations, particularly in labour affairs. In a separate meeting, Bakkar and Lebanon's Minister of Labour Mohammad Haydar discussed the possibility of signing a memorandum of understanding in the near future. The two ministers' expressed commitment to boosting bilateral ties in labour matters, with Bakkar reiterating Jordan's readiness to support Lebanon with necessary services in line with His Majesty King Abdullah's directives to the government. Haydar praised the Kingdom's labour inspection system and vocational training framework. © Copyright The Jordan Times. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
