Greater Middle East
Russia betrays Kurds as Syria alliance shifts
After initiating talks that exclude Washington, Turkey and Russia each accused the US of backing "terrorist groups" in Syria—obviously meaning the Kurds.
Tag: ISIS
North Africa
Libya: civilians detained in evacuation of Sirte
Human Rights Watch issued an urgent call for Libya's government to protect civilians who were detained after fleeing former ISIS stronghold Sirte.
Greater Middle East
UN approves investigation of Syria war crimes
With action blocked by Russia's veto in the Security Council, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution establishing an independent investigation into war crimes in Syria.
Iraq
Iraq: militia accused of extrajudicial executions
A Shi'ite militia backed by the Iraqi government is accused of summarily executing men captured in a village outside Mosul who were suspected of being ISIS supporters.
Greater Middle East
General massacre feared with fall of Aleppo
As pro-Assad forces close in on the last opposition-held areas of Aleppo, reports are coming out of the stricken city that residents face mass detention and atrocities.
Iraq
Iraq gives Shi’ite militias legal status to fight ISIS
Iraq's parliament voted to give the Shi'ite militias fighting ISIS an official paramilitary status—a move assailed by critics who say these forces are enflaming sectarian warfare.
Greater Middle East
The new Axis: Moscow, Damascus, Washington
Trump's election has given Russia a green light for the destruction of Aleppo; Bashar Assad now has the open support of both superpowers in his war of extermination.
Afghanistan
Taliban versus ISIS in Afghan opium wars
With Afghanistan's opium crop breaking all records, a three-way war is developing over the cultivation zones, as government forces, the Taliban and ISIS battle for control.
Afghanistan
Pakistan: blast at Sufi shrine leaves scores dead
The local ISIS franchise claimed responsibility for a blast at a Sufi shrine in Pakistan's Balochistan region that killed 60 worshipers and injured more than 100.
Iraq
Syria and Iraq in the Trump world order
Trump intends to divide Syria with Putin the way Hitler divided Poland with Stalin—but will the US will be able to control its sphere amid social collapse and sectarian maelstrom?
Greater Middle East
Turkey: Kurdish opposition leaders arrested
Leading lawmakers with the leftist and Kuridish-led Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) were detained in police operations across Turkey, ostensibly as part of a terrorism investigation.
North Africa
Libya: civilians under siege in Benghazi
Civilian residents are trapped in a neighborhood of Benghazi, amid fighting between the Libyan National Army and Islamist militias of the Benghazi Revolutionary Shura Council.