Overview
- Marking the first anniversary of his takeover, Ahmed al-Scharaa reviewed a military parade in Damascus in uniform as an expert reported he lacks a monopoly on force over HTS-linked militias.
- Reports of mass killings of Alawites and Druze this year, including July’s Suweida massacre with alleged involvement of Damascus security forces, intensify fears among minorities and potential returnees.
- Help – Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe reports that over 60 percent of Syrians need aid, seven million are internally displaced and more than 60 percent of infrastructure is destroyed, with a crippled banking system constraining relief.
- A US-brokered March agreement to fold the SDF into a new national army under al-Scharaa and General Mazlum Abdi has produced no practical steps.
- International actors continue to shape outcomes as the United States backs the transitional president, Turkey and Qatar exert influence, more than one million refugees have returned mainly from Turkey, and a German debate on deportations features warnings of serious risk.