Middle East & Africa | Postcard from Daraa

What do Syria’s other rebels want now?

HTS could not have taken Damascus without their help. We sit down with a Syrian rebel commander

SYRIA-CONFLICT
Photograph: AFP via Getty Images
|DARAA

SITTING IN A walled compound near the Syrian city of Daraa, not far from the Jordanian border, a Syrian rebel commander recalls his men’s part in the conquest of the capital, Damascus, a few days earlier. “We were supposed to wait until they took Homs, but when they took Hama, everyone decided to take up arms, we couldn’t stop them,” says the unassuming former trader now known by his nom de guerre, Abu Hamza.

Explore more

Discover more

Abu Hassan al-Hamawi, the military commander of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham

An interview with the military commander of Syria’s new masters

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham promises to respect minorities

Nakuru human rights activists march in the streets while chanting slogans to demonstrate against rising cases of violence against women

Kenyan women are fed up with rampant sexual violence

A spate of horrific murders has fuelled a campaign to end femicide


Mohamed Abdelrhman of Sudan

Sudan’s football team wants to reach the World Cup

International support and canny management have helped the squad defy civil war


Binyamin Netanyahu is in court again in Israel

As he fights charges of corruption, his country’s democracy may suffer

The fall of Bashar al-Assad is a blow to Iran

Will the weakened regime reform, or race for the bomb?

Protests have shut down Mozambique

The aftermath of a rigged election is threatening a social revolt