Middle Orient

Russia arranged for the Syrian army to enter into some areas under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in an attempt to organize the situation in the east of the country. Earlier, Russian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Moscow is exerting intensive efforts to contain the military escalation …

More than 900 pro-Turkish Syrian fighters have returned to Syria after the end of fighting in the disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh, a British-based Syrian war monitor said Wednesday. A November 9 truce ended more than a month of fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the ethnic Armenian enclave that broke …

On the evening of Tuesday 9 November, Turkish warplanes targeted separatist elements of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Syrian city of Qamishli. The drone attack is not the first of its kind in the city, as it was preceded by similar attacks in the city and Ain Al-Arab …

Jordan’s document and its confidential addendum for normalizing ties with Damascus display that the final goal for Arab countries restoring their relationship with the Syrian capital is that foreign forces and fighters exit Syria. According to the document, which Asharq Al-Awsat reviewed, US and International Coalition forces in northeastern Syria …

One-time U.S. foe emerges as top vote-getter but could still struggle to form the next government. Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shia cleric whose Mahdi Army followers battled U.S. forces during the years of the occupation, made big gains in Iraq’s parliamentary election on October 10. His victory could pose problems for …

The cease-fire that entered into force last Friday brought an end to 11 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas, leaving behind at least 248 Palestinian and 12 Israeli dead, as well as untold destruction in Gaza. Yet even as the fragile truce is holding thus far, the power struggle …

After 13 months of political paralysis, Lebanon finally has a new government, the first since former Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned along with his entire Cabinet after the Beirut port explosion of August 2020, which killed over 200 and devastated the capital city. The new administration is led by Lebanon’s …

The rapprochement between Ankara and Cairo has catalyzed internal rifts between exiled leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood. Amid a fledgling Turkish bid last April to normalize ties with Egypt, a delegation of exiled Muslim Brotherhood leaders held talks in Ankara, seeking assurances that they would not be thrown under the …

SOHR activists have reported that a regime soldier was shot dead by rebel factions on Saraqib frontlines, east of Idlib city. Meanwhile, opposition factions have shelled, with rockets, positions of regime forces in Telat al-Burkan in northern Latakia, al-Shaikh Uqail frontline, Ourom al-Soughra in western Aleppo, al-Dar al-Kabera frontline and …

Syrian Kurds in the Northeast are prepared to offer 75% of the oil produced in their region to Damascus, as a gesture of goodwill, according to Asharq al-Awsat. With the decrease of tension in northeastern Syria following “American assurances” to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), “tacit coordination” has emerged aimed …