On January 18, 2026, the Syrian interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, signed an agreement for a ceasefire, and the full integration of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the Syrian army. This followed rapid security and military developments in the preceding days.
It is not surprising that a party (hizb) which does not recognize the rules of the existing international order, does not seek permission from ruling regimes to promote its ideology, and refuses to derive its legitimacy from human constitutions or political recognitions, would be targeted.
In the Arab world, it has long been promoted that political stability is a prerequisite for economic development, and that any political openness could lead to chaos and hinder growth. The dichotomy of political stability versus development has become one of the most prevalent themes in Arab political discourse since the post-independence era.
Al Jazeera website reported on January 22, 2026 that Lieutenant General Ahmed Ibrahim Mufaddal, Director of the Sudanese Intelligence Service, visited Washington and discussed several issues, most importantly security. In two rounds of dialogue between them since the outbreak of the war in Sudan, the Director General of the Intelligence Service...
