Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria

January 26, 2025 | Seth J. Frantzman |

The strategic Tishrin Dam has become a flashpoint in post-Assad Syria

The Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates River in Syria has become a key point of conflict in the country’s post-Assad era. Since the fall of dictator Bashar al Assad’s regime on December 8, the dam has been...

December 14, 2024 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Turkey moves to isolate the Kurds in Syria, and prepares a way for new attacks

The main group in Ankara's cross-hairs is the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, which was formed in 2015 with US backing.

December 4, 2024 | Sinan Ciddi |

America Must Stand with Syria’s Kurds

Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan is playing with and stoking fires in Syria. Following the major military offensive mounted by the Salafi-jihadist forces of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in...

November 10, 2024 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Why did Israel’s new foreign minister embrace the Kurdish people?

Israel has long enjoyed positive relations with Kurdish people in the Middle East. It is part of a partnership between Jews and Kurds and also shared interests in the region

September 11, 2024 | |

26 Human Rights Groups Denounce Iran’s Death Sentence Against Prominent Activist

Iran must rescind its death sentence against Kurdish women’s rights activist and social worker Pakhshan Azizi, a group of 26 human rights organizations said in a joint statement...

October 18, 2021 | Aykan Erdemir, David Adesnik

Turkey Threatens New Military Offensive in Northern Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on October 11 that he has “no patience left” for attacks by Syrian Kurdish fighters targeting Turkey’s border towns and Turkish forces in northern Syria,...

May 5, 2020 | David Adesnik |

COVID-19 in Northeast Syria

The reported number of coronavirus cases in northeast Syria remains in single digits, in part because healthcare workers have so little ability to test for the virus. Local authorities are preparing for...

February 27, 2020 | Annie Fixler |

The Cyber Threat from Iran after the Death of Soleimani

Excerpt Tensions between the United States and Iran have been escalating since the Trump administration came into office in January 20171 and withdrew from—and in November 2018 began reimposing sanctions...

November 8, 2017 | Behnam Ben Taleblu, Merve Tahiroglu

Kurd Your Enthusiasm

On October 16, the world woke to footage of the Iraqi army barreling toward Kirkuk, several hundred miles n...

July 5, 2017 | Aykan Erdemir, Merve Tahiroglu

Turkey’s Patchwork Foreign Policy

Turkey’s steady descent into authoritarianism under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has be...