Greater Middle East
Lines drawn in imperial scramble for Syria
The US and Russia each groom their own rival proxy forces to fight ISIS and the Nusra Front—which in turn pledge to turn Syria into "another Afghanistan."
Tag: ISIS
Greater Middle East
Amnesty charges Syrian Kurds with ethnic cleansing
Amnesty International accuses Syrian Kurdish forces of ethnic cleansing against Arabs and Turks in areas liberated from ISIS, raising pressure on Kurdish authorities for an accounting.
Greater Middle East
Peace demands unbowed by Ankara massacre
Kurdish and Turkish activists are continuing to demand "peace despite everything" after twin suicide blasts at an Ankara anti-war rally killed at least 100 and injured twice as many.
Palestine
ISIS enters Israel-Palestine fray?
Israel carried out air-strikes on the Gaza Strip in response to a rocket attack from the territory—said to have been claimed by a faction that has pledged loyalty to ISIS.
North Africa
Tunisia: progressive forces still under attack
The same day the Tunisia Quartet civil activist group was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, a parliamentarian from the center-left ruling coalition survived an assassination attempt.
Greater Middle East
Syrian Kurds as pawns in Turko-Russian game?
With tensions high between Turkey and Russia, Moscow's intervention risks drawing the Kurds into the geopolitical game and escalating divisions within the Syrian resistance.
Greater Middle East
Russia bombs ISIS —not!
The Syrian regime says Russian air-strikes hit "ISIS dens"—but a look at the map indicates the strikes were nowhere near ISIS territory, and targetted rebel forces hostile to ISIS.
Afghanistan
Fall of Kunduz signals Taliban resurgence
The fall of Afghanistan's northern city of Kunduz to the Taliban is but their most dramatic advance in recent weeks, with Taliban and ISIS forces rapidly seizing territory.
Greater Middle East
Putin pries Western leaders from anti-Assad stance
British Prime Minister David Cameron is now the first Western leader to take Vladimir Putin's bait in agreeing that Bashar Assad can be part of a Syrian "transition government."
Iraq
Iraq: Yazidis urge ICC genocide investigation
Members of Iraq's Yazidi minority formally requested that the International Criminal Court open an investigation into possible genocide committed against their community by ISIS.
Europe
UN: no short-term end to refugee crisis in Europe
The UN warned that the flow of refugees into Europe shows no signs of easing or stopping, as approximately 8,000 refugees a day seek to enter the Continent.
Greater Middle East
China enters Syrian war?
China is reported to be sending warships to Syria to augment the Russian build-up there—as word emerges of a Uighur jihadist group allied with the Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front.