Context: Jihadist-turned-President Ahmed al-Sharaa wants to unify Syria after the 14-year civil war. But domestic and external pressures pose a significant challenge.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: About Syrian Civil War.Mains: Global and Regional implications of Syrian Civil War.
Syrian Civil War
- The Syrian Civil War began in 2011 during the Arab Spring, with protests against the authoritarian rule of President Bashar al-Assad. The protests were fueled by grievances over corruption, lack of political freedom, and economic hardship.
- A brutal crackdown by the government led to full-scale armed conflict quickly escalating into a civil war.
- A multi-side conflict involving the Syrian government, various rebel groups (including Free Syrian Army and Islamist factions), Kurdish forces (Syrian Democratic Forces) and ISIS.
- Various international actors like Russia and Iran (supported the Syrian government), the US and its allies (backed rebel groups) also got involved.
The Present Situation
- Despite the fall of the Assad regime in 2024, localised fighting and insurgencies continue.
- In July 2025, clashes between Druze and Sunni Bedouin militias in southern Syria’s Suweida Governorate has left more than 1000 people dead.
- The new President Ahmed al-Sharaa has focused on uniting Syria’s diverse communities to enable reconstruction and economic recovery, however he faces challenges from ethnic militias and regional instability.
About President Ahmed al-Sharaa
- He is serving as the President of Syria since January 2025. He is a former al-Qaeda leader and a designated US terrorist.
- He has been implicated in violence against Syrian minorities during the civil war- and inability/lack of intent to prevent sectarian violence has complicated this effort.
- He has faced scrutiny on three fronts: the Alawites, the Kurds, and the Druze.
Ethnic and Sectarian Challenges to National Unity:
1. Alawites:
- Country’s largest ethnic minority. Residing primarily along Syria’s Mediterranean coast.
- Served as the former President Bashar al-Assad’s principal support base.
- Clashes with Syrian security forces in March 2025 led to the death of more than 1500, mostly Alawite civilians and unarmed fighters.
2. Kurds:
- The Assad regime in 2012 gave them a semi-autonomous civil administration (Rojava) with an armed wing (Syrian Democratic Forces; SDF) in oil-rich northeastern Syria.
- President Sharaa demanded SDF's full integration into the Syrian Army, and bring the region into Syria’s direct control. This led to daily clashes between SDF and Syrian Army, until a conditional agreement in March 2025, in which the Kurds largely agreed to Sharaa’s demands in exchange for specific protections.
- However, the Kurds feel betrayed as the new Syrian interim Constitution does not guarantee Kurdish rights. The Kurds now seek additional time to implement the March Agreement, and oversight from the US and France.
3. Druze:
- Around 500,000 Druze live in Syria, mainly in Suweida, and have rejected the interim constitution that seeks to disarm their militias.
- Israel, home to 150,000 Druze, opposes Sharaa’s control over Suweida. Israel uses Druze protection as justification for expanding its hold over southern Syria, especially the Golan Heights.
- Clashes between Druze and Bedouin militias, allegedly backed by Syria, led to intensified Israeli airstrikes in Syria, until a US-brokered ceasefire on July 19, 2025.
Regional and Global Stakes
- Syria’s Arab neighbours and Turkey have supported Sharaa’s attempts at rebuilding Syria.
- Gulf states have repaid Syria’s $15.5 million debt to the World Bank, convinced the Trump administration to lift American sanctions on Syria, and have committed vast sums of money for Syria’s reconstruction.
This is fuelled both by their common interests in preventing an Iranian resurgence in the region, another factor that has driven Sharaa to negotiate with Israel and hope for a more stable neighbourhood. However, Israel’s independent interests in Syria hinder this regional effort.
Hence, strong ethnic and sectarian tensions continue to tug at Syria’s peripheries while its political core in the country struggles with enforcing National Unity.