The fragile architecture of Syria's new transitional government
In short: After 13 years of civil war, the fall of Bashar al-Assad in late 2024 triggered a seismic shift in Syrian governance. Now, a transitional administration faces the monumental task of unifying fractured militias, integrating autonomous regions, and managing a landscape still scarred by deep-seated tensions.
Following the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024, Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, was declared Syria’s transitional president in January 2025. An interim constitutional declaration followed in March 2025. While the fall of the capital, Damascus, signaled the end of the long civil war, the transition has been characterized by significant instability. The interim government has struggled to maintain complete control over its own forces, leading to outbreaks of violence in coastal areas in March 2025 and fighting involving Druze groups in Suweyda in July 2025.
A primary challenge for the new authorities is the integration of diverse and often autonomous armed groups into a single national structure. This includes the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). While the SDF had previously controlled a large portion of the Syrian northeast, a new agreement reached in early 2026 allowed for their integration into the central state. By January 2026, following further fighting between interim forces and the SNA, the transitional government secured control over the majority of the country, including major hubs like Damascus and Aleppo.
The political landscape remains complex, with ongoing efforts to integrate Kurdish areas and Druze communities into the interim government. Despite the shift in power, territorial control remained disputed into 2026, and the process of unifying all militias remains an ongoing project. For observers like traveler Drew Binsky, who returned to the country in 2025, the atmosphere is described as a palpable mix of hope and uncertainty as the nation attempts to navigate this unprecedented transition from a long-standing regime to an unproven interim state.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Entering Syria in 2025 | New Government in Power
- Also: Syria in 2026: Interim government and Kurdish integration
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