Syria
Syria: will peace plan mean world war?
Russia announced that it is sending forces to police the “de-escalation zones” in Syria—which could provide a spark for massive escalation.
Tag: ISIS
Syria
Syrian refugees return —to face genocide?
The UN reports a “notable trend of spontaneous returns” of displaced Syrians as regime gains bring a modicum of peace to some areas—but mass killings by regime forces continue.
Iraq
Syria: will fall of Raqqa widen war?
With the Syrian Kurds now facing open war from both Turkey and the Assad regime, the imminent taking of Raqqa portends a multi-sided scramble for former ISIS territory.
Southeast Asia
Philippines: protests against martial law
Protests are emerging in the Philippines against ultra-hardline President Rodrigo Duterte's declaration of martial law in the southern island of Mindanao.
Greater Middle East
UAE accused of grave rights abuses in Yemen
Human Rights Watch accused the United Arab Emirates of operating secret facilities in Yemen, where detainees have been "forcibly disappeared, tortured, and abused."
Iraq
Who destroyed Mosul’s al-Nuri mosque?
ISIS and the United States exchanged accusations over destruction of Mosul's historic Grand al-Nuri Mosque—another blow to the city's heritage, coming during the holiest days of Ramadan.
Palestine
Jerusalem: sweeps in wake of attack
Israeli authorities revoked permits for Palestinians to enter Jerusalem and Israel in response to a deadly attack in East Jerusalem's Old City, rounding up hundreds in mass arrests.
Syria
Syria slides closer to Arab-Kurdish ethnic war
Clashes broke out between Syrian rebel factions and Kurdish fighters in Aleppo province, as Arabs and Kurds are further pitted against each other by Great Power manipulation.
Iraq
US using white phosphorus in Raqqa: reports
Several civilians were killed when US air-strikes reportedly targeted ISIS-held Raqqa with white phosphorus—banned by the Geneva Convention as a weapon of war.
Southeast Asia
Duterte declares martial law in south Philippines
Duterte's declaration of martial law in Mindanao is ostensibly in response to an ISIS-linked terrorist group, but will give security forces a still freer hand in his murderous "war on drugs."
Iran
Iran: ISIS attack escalates Persian Gulf tensions
Coordinated ISIS attacks on Iran's parliament and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini come amid an Islamic State propaganda push targeting the Islamic Republic's Sunni minority.
Greater Middle East
Qatar crisis places US regional policing in pickle
Qatar's diplomatic isolation by the other Gulf states, accused of supporting terrorism in the region, heightens contradictions for the Pentagon's use of the critical al-Udeid Air Base.