Middle Orient

Amid an insurgency of pro-Assad forces in the coastal regions of Syria, the new government’s security forces have been accused of massacring civilians. Syrian security forces are fighting an insurgency by pro-Assad groups across the country [Getty] Clashes in coastal areas of Syria between government security forces and groups loyal …

In-depth: Israel is instrumentalising Syria’s Druze to maintain military influence in the south, but the community has rejected Netanyahu’s bid to protect them. Dozens of Druze residents gathered in the Seyouf Square of Jaramana, a Damascus suburb, last Tuesday, holding banners denouncing comments made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu …

Analysis: While PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan’s historic call raises hopes of ending 40 years of conflict with Turkey, peace is by no means guaranteed. After four decades of fighting the Turkish state, Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan has urged the group that he founded to abandon its armed …

The National Dialogue Conference in Damascus, which brought together hundreds of participants to discuss Syria’s political future, ended last week in a mix of optimism and criticism. The first national-level event since the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime presented a long-awaited opportunity for Syrians to come together and deliberate on …

After more than a decade of brutal civil war, it took Islamist militants just 11 days to sweep through Syria and topple the regime of Bashar al-Assad. The offensive, which has been driven by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has forced many residents in …

More than a month has passed since Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militant group, became the de facto leader of Syria. Since then, he has dropped his nom de guerre in favour of his real name, Ahmed al-Shara, and has swapped his military attire …

Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), has called on the group to disarm and dissolve itself. In a letter read out by his political allies in Istanbul, Turkey, on February 27, he wrote: “I take on the historical responsibility for this call … All …

On March 1, the start of the holy month of Ramadan — observed by most of Turkey’s Sunni population — the imprisoned leader of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, Abdullah Öcalan, made a historic call for the party to disarm and end its 40-year-long armed struggle against the Turkish state. …

An Assadist insurgency has emerged in western Syria and stands to help US adversaries expand their influence there. The insurgency has developed slowly since early January 2025. Insurgent activity involved hit-and-run attacks at first and has evolved gradually into overt civil conflict.[i] This insurgency is still at a relatively low …

In short Over the last decade, ISIS is one of the most ferocious terror organizations in the world. Its horrible techniques of torturing and slaughtering its enemies (which is pretty much everyone else) is considered extreme even for other terrorists and gave it during its prime days a vile reputation. …