Sultan al-Kanj

Sultan al-Kanj
A Syrian Journalist and researcher 
Arab World An ISIS fighter in Baghouz, Syria, in 2019, in a photo released by the group’s Amaq agency (AP)

ISIS Shifts Priorities, Seeks to Raise Cost of Rule in Syria

Syria has moved since early this year from internal unrest in the northeast, the coast, and the south to relative calm and attempts to impose a new security…

Sultan al-Kanj
Features A photo of US President Donald Trump meeting Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Washington on Nov. 10 (AFP)

How Trump’s Decisions Reshaped Syria

In a crowded regional and international landscape shaped by overlapping security, strategic, economic, and political pressures, the administration of US…

Sultan al-Kanj
Features A circulated image shows the Ghuraba camp in Harem in Idlib’s countryside

French Migrant Unit Faces Quiet Standoff With Damascus

The latest clashes in Idlib’s countryside between a French armed faction known as the Ghuraba and Syrian government forces have revived one of the most…

Sultan al-Kanj
Features An aerial view shows smoke rising over Sweida during clashes between Druze and Bedouin tribes, July 19, 2025. (DPA)

Sweida Emerges as First Big Test for Syria’s New Era

In late July, the spiritual leadership of Syria’s Druze minority in Sweida announced the creation of legal and security committees to run the southern province…

Sultan al-Kanj
Features Druze woman from Israeli-Occupied Golan gazes toward Syria (Reuters)

Sweida’s Druze, Bedouin Tribes Locked in Historic Grievances

Sweida, a province in southern Syria, is teetering on the brink after days of deadly violence and clashes between local communities and government security…

Sultan al-Kanj
Features Armed clashes between Arab tribal fighters and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Manbij area of northern Syria in September 2023 (Getty)

The End of a Forced Coexistence: Arab Tribes Turn Against the Syrian Democratic Forces in Eastern Syria

In Syria’s vast northeastern areas, a brittle arrangement has for years held together an uneasy coexistence between the Arab tribes and the Kurdish-led Syrian…

Sultan al-Kanj
Arab World Emergency services work at the scene of a suicide bombing at Mar Elias Church on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, 22 June 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI

Damascus Gov’t on Alert to Prevent ISIS Resurgence

A suicide bombing that targeted the Mar Elias church in the Dweila district of Damascus has reignited debate over ISIS’s activity inside Syria, amid growing…

Sultan al-Kanj (Damascus)
Features Nusra fighters train in Syria’s Idlib Province – August 16, 2024 (AFP)

Angry Groups Emerge and Fade in Syria, Terror Cells or Shadows?

When Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met US President Donald Trump in Riyadh on May 14, the encounter marked a striking departure from Syria’s political norm,…

Sultan al-Kanj