Jason Burke

Corruption and incompetence in the army and successful outreach by the rebels left the troops with little to fight for

Rebel alliance includes groups with roots in Islamic extremism, Arab and Turkmen fighters, and Kurdish and Druze coalitions

On Sunday morning, a bearded 42-year-old man wearing a plain green military uniform walked into the Umayyad mosque in Damascus and addressed a small crowd, the Syrian nation, the region and the world.

Whether he goes by Ahmed al-Sharaa or his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, is a key indicator in the direction Syria’s future may take

Israeli warplanes have intensified an air offensive in Syria, striking hundreds of military targets and destroying entire squadrons of fighters, radar and missile systems, missile stores and much of the small Syrian navy.

Mohammed al-Bashir chairs cabinet meeting of new transitional government and will lead interim authority until 1 March

Islamist organisations and militants around the world have congratulated Syrian rebels on their victory over the regime of Bashar al-Assad, ignoring

Almost universal support suggests interest in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s mix of national and religious ideologies

The symbolism of the olive tree for Palestinian nationalism has fed into the rise in violence and damage in the last year

International security correspondent Jason Burke explores the life of Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, and asks whether he has genuinely reformed from his hardline al-Qaida past