Greater Middle East
Syria: civil wars in the civil war
A growing split between secular and Islamist elements of the FSA is unfortunately mirrored by a breach between Kurds and Ankara-backed Arab and Turkmen forces.
Tag: Greater Middle East
Greater Middle East
Kurdish lawyer shot dead at press conference
Tahir Elci, a prominent Kurdish human rights lawyer, was gunned down by unknown assailants while delivering a press statement in Diyarbakir, Turkey.
Greater Middle East
Opening shots of new Russo-Turkish war?
The situation in northern Syria is escalating amid Russo-Turkish brinkmanship, with Turkmen villages coming under intense Russian bombardment.
Greater Middle East
Russian warplane down: heightened contradictions
After Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane over Syria, Vladimir Putin openly accused Ankara of backing ISIS—echoing a charge Kurdish forces have been making for months.
Greater Middle East
Syria: protests break out in ISIS-held town
Residents of the ISIS-held northern Syrian town of Manbij have held unprecedented protests against jihadist rule, according to activists who got the word out via social media.
Greater Middle East
Saudi Arabia sentences Palestinian poet to death
A court in Saudi Arabia sentenced Palestinian poet Ashraf Fayadh to death for apostasy and abandoning his Muslim faith after he protested the kingdom's religious police.
Greater Middle East
Saudi Arabia executions break 20-year record
Saudi Arabia has executed 151 people so far this year, the highest number since 1995—contributing to a global spike in use of the death penalty.
Greater Middle East
Syria: anti-ISIS forces advance —despite everything
The new Kurdish-Arab alliance in northern Syria continues to advance into ISIS-held territory—in spite of efforts by virtually all the regional powers to sabotage it.
Greater Middle East
Egypt: officials arrest prominent rights activist
Egyptian authorities arrested prominent human rights activist Hossam Bahgat after military officials questioned him concerning a report he wrote on the use of secret trials.
Greater Middle East
US sells Turkey ‘smart bombs’ (to use against Kurds)
The Pentagon announces the sale of 900 "smart bombs" to Turkey just as Ankara is preparing to move against US-backed Kurdish forces in Syria.
Greater Middle East
Turkey attacks Kurdish positions on Syrian border
Turkish military forces attacked Kurdish positions on the Syrian border, raising fears that Turkey is moving to establish its "buffer zone."
Greater Middle East
Saudi Arabia confirms Shi’ite cleric’s death sentence
Saudi Arabia's high court upheld the death sentence of Shi'ite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, found guilty of sedition over Arab Spring protests.