Middle Orient

As the Turkish president shifts his focus toward Kyiv, he is essentially testing Moscow’s new red lines. How firmly is Russia prepared to react in a situation where it is simultaneously fending off a Ukrainian counteroffensive and recovering from the Wagner mutiny? Following his hard-fought victory in the May presidential …

Five ISIS terrorists were killed during a swift air raid in Kirkuk (250 kilometers north of Baghdad), revealed an Iraqi military statement on Tuesday. Additionally, two other individuals were apprehended in the same city through a well-executed ambush, the statement added. “The intelligence personnel of the Counter-Terrorism Bureau have, after …

Hoping to counter Iran’s influence and end drug smuggling, Saudi Arabia has led a coalition of Arab states in rehabilitating the Syrian regime. This is not only a moral but also a strategic mistake, writes Faysal Abbas Mohamad. To most Syria observers, the accelerated Saudi-led drive to rehabilitate the Assad …

Many Syrians were incensed last week at the appearance of Bashar al-Assad at the Arab League, twelve years after he was suspended due to his brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011. On the day of the Arab League meeting, thousands of Syrians took to the streets in over 15 …

Despite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad being welcomed back onto the international stage, all is not well at home. His country is broken into three parts, which, at best, are in a state of uneasy coexistence and at worst are stuck in a low-intensity active conflict. In the country’s northwestern Idlib …

Iraqi authorities, on Saturday, reportedly deported three Syrian Kurdish refugees to Syria after they were arrested on residency issues, disregarding concerns about their safety in their home country. The step coincides with a formal visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to Syria on Sunday, in which he met …

The resolution to establish an Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria, adopted by the UN General Assembly at the end of June, marks a first, promising step to uncover the fate of over 130,000 people who have disappeared since the Syrian conflict began in 2011. Most of them are …

After weeks of haranguing Russian military commanders, Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin on 24 June ordered his fighters to take over the garrison city of Rostov-on-Don and head for Moscow, sparking fears of civil war in Russia. Almost as quickly as it began the mutiny was quelled, with Prigozhin and …

Recent days have seen a build-up of military forces in the rural areas of Deir-ez-Zor, according to Baladi News. The official spokesman for the Free Syrian Army, Abdul Razzaq Khader, refuted claims on Wednesday about preparations for a military operation in Deir-ez-Zor. In an interview with Syria TV, Khader stated, …

The U.S. military presence in the northern countryside of the Deir-ez-Zor governorate continues to strengthen, according to al-Watan. The U.S. military presence in the northern countryside of the Deir-ez-Zor governorate continues to strengthen as they have alerted the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and their affiliated militias to be prepared for …