Middle Orient

With rival forces openly warring in northeast Syria, the long-deferred challenges of identifying, securing, and repatriating IS detainees have come to a head, forcing Washington to prioritize several urgent actions and put more pressure on its partners. Almost overnight, the map of Syria has changed again as stalled talks between …

While Iranian protesters are being beaten, imprisoned, and killed by the Islamic Republic, Turkey’s government is busy running diplomatic interference for the mullahs. Ankara’s effort, marshaled by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, is not an aberration or a miscalculation. Rather, it is a revealing confirmation of Turkey’s long-standing ideological sympathy for …

The Israeli army struck Lebanese “Hezbollah” positions along the Syria-Lebanon border on Wednesday, 21 January. Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Israel carried out airstrikes on four crossing points in the Hermel area, between Syria and Lebanon, which he said “Hezbollah” uses to transfer weapons. In a post on X, …

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Iraq’s main Shia alliance, which holds a parliamentary majority, endorsed on Saturday former prime minister and powerbroker Nouri al-Maliki as the country’s next premier. The nomination effectively guarantees Maliki, 75, the post that he last held more than a decade ago. The politician is set to return to power today …

Syria’s government and Kurdish forces on Saturday extended their truce by 15 days, with Damascus saying it was to support the US transfer of ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq. Several sources had earlier told AFP the truce would be prolonged, with a Syrian official in Damascus citing the same …

Accusations are mounting between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) about who is responsible for violating the fragile ceasefire agreement in Hasakah province, at a time when field data indicate an escalation of tension despite the announced understandings. The four-day deadline agreed between the two sides expires …

Among various self-declared groups that have emerged since the fall of the Assad regime and proclaim themselves in opposition to the new government in Syria, Quwat Saraya al-Areen (“Forces of the Brigades of the Den”) is notable for its declared link with the “Islamic Resistance Front in Syria- Awali al-Ba’s,” …

‘Ideally, the transfer of Daesh prisoners from Syria should take place. While this is happening, the existing non-conflict environment needs to be maintained,’ says Hakan Fidan Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Friday that the YPG/SDF terror group does not represent Syrian Kurds, as he spoke to Turkish news channel …

Hundreds of fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrived on Friday in the city of Kobani (Ain al-Arab) in eastern Aleppo province, after the Syrian army facilitated their withdrawal from Raqqa to the Kurdish city on the Turkish border. The development comes amid continued adherence to a ceasefire between …