Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has won major diplomatic victories since seizing power nine months ago, but he risks losing the battle that matters most: to hold his deeply divided country together.
In Syria's northeast, Kurdish forces are resisting integration into the state after 14 years of civil war, and are demanding a new constitution to recognize their rights. In the southeast, members of the Druze community are openly calling for independence after violent clashes with government forces.
And, in Syria's northwest, a leader of the Alawite community says al-Sharaa's administration threatens its survival after Sunni militants affiliated to the government massacred hundreds of civilians there in March.
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