After wins abroad, Syria leader must gain trust at home |
One year after ousting Bashar al-Assad, Ahmed al-Sharaa has restored Syria's international standing and won sanctions relief.
But analysts warn the former jihadist still needs to secure trust on the home front.
Sectarian bloodshed in the country's Alawite and Druze minority heartlands -- alongside ongoing Israeli military operations -- have shaken Syria as President Sharaa tries to lead the country out of 14 years of war.
"Syria has opened a new chapter that many once thought impossible," said Nanar Hawach, senior Syria analyst at the International Crisis Group, citing relaunched diplomatic ties and foreign investment.
But he added: "International rehabilitation means little if all Syrians don't feel safe walking their own streets."
US President Donald Trump has taken a particular shining to the 43-year-old, a surprise political victory for a former jihadist who once had a US bounty on his head due to his ties to Al-Qaeda.
Sharaa has toured capitals from the Gulf to Europe to Washington since his Islamist alliance toppled Assad on December 8 last year, ending more than half a........