On September 2, the state-controlled Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that Damascus intercepted an arms shipment destined for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the US-supported military force...
On June 29, 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State in al-Sham (ISIS), was recorded on video speaking at the al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul, Iraq. (“Al-Sham” is the traditional Arabic...
Syria’s civil war broke out in March 2011, in reaction to the brutal crackdown by the regime of Bashar al-Asad of popular protests that were part of the wider Arab Spring. In supporting the Syrian...
Ahmed al-Shara’s attempts to concentrate power and spurn Syria’s minorities are destabilizing the country.
Several Sunni Arab tribes in northeastern Syria, an area that encompasses 30 percent of Syrian territory and is currently under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have called...
The Syrian coastal massacres in March marked one of the deadliest violent episodes since the downfall of the Assad regime. An August 11 report by the United Nations’ Independent International Commission...
Latest Developments Military Memorandum Signed: Turkey’s Ministry of Defense has announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Syria for the training of Syrian troops and military...
Clashes have erupted between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeastern Syria. Since August 2, the SDF has reported five clashes, leaving tens wounded. The...
Iran still seeks to project power in the Middle East — not only by arming proxies and smuggling oil but also by shaping regional parliaments and policies. Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s new Supreme...
On August 13, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that Turkish Minister of Defense Yasar Guler and Syrian Minister of Defense Murhaf Abu Qusra signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU)...
Nine months after Bashar al-Assad’s fall and Ahmad al-Sharaa’s rise to power, the UN Security Council met to address Syria’s ongoing crisis. The Council urged Damascus to establish a government “of...
SDF Clashes With Troops: The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) claimed on August 4 to have repelled an “attack” by “factions affiliated with the Syrian Transitional...
Recent drone attacks in Kurdistan are once again bringing the issue of Iraq’s Iran-backed militias to the fore.
Syria’s endangered minorities deserve protection
Parliamentary elections in Syria will take place in September, Damascus announced on July 27 — but the people will not vote and presidential appointees will choose the winners. Interim President Ahmad...
Syria is a patchwork of identities, par for the course in a region where novel nationalities vie with tribe and religion for the citizenry’s loyalty. For most of the country’s history, the Assad family...
Iraq has revived legislation regarding the Popular Mobilization Authority (PMA), the government agency that oversees the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The PMF, while legally an Iraqi government...
Syria after Bashar al-Assad is a country in chaos, but that does not mean it cannot get worse. One way that could happen would be a direct Turkish military intervention. Unfortunately, that is exactly...
The recent sectarian violence shows that the Syrian government and its Turkish backers share a dangerous vision of a Sunni-dominant state.
Turkey’s Kurdish political movement is unexpectedly emerging as a crucial partner in President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ongoing drive to consolidate power and entrench autocratic rule. On...