Brussels meeting to support the future of Syria
Participants in the recent eighth ministerial conference organized by the European Union in Brussels to support the future of Syria unanimously warned against the consequences of “forgetting Syria” and its millions of internally displaced people and refugees to neighboring countries. Moreover, EU pledged more than two billion euro ($2.17 billion) to support Syrian refugees in the region, and rejected any talk about the possible return of refugees to their homeland, as the conditions for voluntary and safe return are not prepared.
The difficult return of Syrian refugees to their mother-country
Faced with a swarm of economic, security and authoritarian challenges in neighboring countries, hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees who fled the civil war have returned home, despite the grim security and safety situation that awaits them.
Gaza and the regional security dilemma
Regional security in the Middle East is a real dilemma that has been searching for a solution since 1967 until today, and it requires a serious discussion because the scale of a crisis that has reached the point of danger, especially after the war waged by Israel against the people of Gaza.
Increasing criticism against the Syrian government for its failure to manage economic crises
Since the Syrian People's Assembly approved the general budget for the year 2024, at the end of last December, the government has been subjected to a flood of sharp criticism, while it proceeds with its decisions aimed, as it says, at reducing the deficit, which this year reached an unprecedented amount.
Potential scenarios for the Gaza war
The war is currently raging in Gaza between the Israeli army and the Hamas movement places the region before the following alternative: either the ongoing negotiations in Qatar and Oman succeed in defusing the crisis, or they fail and, in this case, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu risks precipitating the entire region into a total war.
UN estimations about the aid needs in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank
According to a statement of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Operations (OCHA), the United Nations estimate the humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank at $1.2 billion until the end of 2023.
Syria, a field of military intervention for Russia
Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, is militarily present in Syria, where since 2015 it has been intervening alongside the forces of Bashar al-Assad's regime and has been able to test its armament and tactics.
Northwestern Syria is witnessing a campaign of extensive reforms and services
Agroup of Non-Governmental Organizations and local humanitarian organizations, in cooperation with the service authorities in the opposition-held areas in northwestern Syria, have begun implementing a number of service projects, and a large-scale renovate campaign for roads, drinking water networks, and sewage channels, with the aim to improve the services and facilitate the lives of more than 6 million people, with the beginning of this summer season.
Concerns about the suspension of humanitarian aid in Idlib camps
The World Food Program said in a recent statement that the "unprecedented funding crisis in Syria" forced it to reduce its aid to about 2.5 million people in Idlib camps, after it was providing it to about 5.5 million people who depend on the assistance provided by the UN agency for their basic food needs.
Tension rises in Syria
The civil war in Syria continues to worsen, with the opening of a new front in the north-west of the country, which opposes not the rebels to the regime of Bashar Al-Assad, but the armed groups of opposition. According to a Syrian NGO, recent fights opposed rebels of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) to the jihadists from Al-Qaeda who were trying to get their weapons.
The depreciation of the Turkish lira is damaging the living conditions in northern Syria
The recent collapse of the exchange rate of the Turkish lira against the dollar has put Syrians in the areas of Turkish influence and the Syrian opposition, northwestern Syria, in a new economic and living dilemma, in direct confrontation with the high and fluctuating prices of medicines, food, industrial commodities and fuel, with a significant decline in the purchasing and labor movement.
The Iraqi government is developing a plan to restore stability in Tarmiya and Diyala provinces
At a time when the Iraqi security services are still pursuing ISIS members and cells in places where they are suspected to be present, the government has begun to develop a plan to restore stability to the Tarmiya and Diyala districts, north of Baghdad.
The Autonomous Administration proposes a “peaceful and democratic” solution to the Syrian crisis
In a recent statement, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria announced the launch of an initiative that aims to find a "peaceful and democratic" solution to the Syrian crisis. The Autonomous Administration affirmed its readiness to meet with the Syrian governme
Is the terror threat still prevalent?
A UN press release dated February 9, 2023 reminds that the threat posed by Daesh in the world has not diminished. Furthermore, officials the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), also told a United Nations Security Council session that this terrorist group "continues to exploit local fragilities and inter-community tensions, notably in Iraq, Syria and parts of the African continent, notably in the recruitment of terrorists”.
How the war in Ukraine is changing the world balance
The war that began with the Russian invasion of Ukraine was supported by the US and UK with arms shipments and a continued US and British presence in Kiev alongside Volodimyr Zelensky. The EU has given up on Russian gas and oil, plus Nord Stream 2, sanctioned Russia and sent weapons to Kiev.
Russia in the Middle East: From the Arab Spring to the invasion of Ukraine (2011-2022)
The scenario created by the 2011 revolutions in North Africa and the Arab Levant forced Moscow to rethink its role in the region. In May 2012, with Putin's return to the presidency of the Federation, Russia fully returned to Middle Eastern affairs.
Arabs have little interest in Ukrainian war, despite economic fallout
According to an exclusive Arab News poll, the majority of people in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region don't seem to care much about the war in Ukraine. The survey was conducted among 7,835 people in 14 countries in the MENA region.
Geopolitical considerations on the conflict in Ukraine
The Ukrainian crisis changed the post Cold War status quo in Europe. Russia, considering the support of Western partners for regime change in Kiev as a betrayal, defended its vital interests, while the West saw this as pure and simple aggression by a superpower.
What is the Russian priority in Syria today?
The recent Moscow's announcement about its intention to expand the list of Russian airports that will be linked to Syrian airports raised questions about the implications of the move in light of the repercussions of the Western blockade imposed on Russia...
After the Russian threat to stop its delivery across the border with Turkey, displaced people in northern Syria fear the halt of humanitarian aid
Activists, local humanitarian organizations and camp managers for the displaced people in northwestern Syria have warned that the mechanism for bringing humanitarian aid to Syrians through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing point with Turkey, under pressure from Russia, has stopped.
THE WAR IN UKRAINE AND FOOD INSECURITY IN MIDDLE EAST
ven before the start of Russian military operations in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the international community, and in particular European countries, heavily dependent on Russian gas supplies, were anxious by the major impact that this crisis could have on deliveries and hydrocarbon prices.
Kurdish warnings of ISIS revival 3 years after its defeat
Recently, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) warned that ISIS is trying, after 3 years of eliminating its established areas, to reorganize its ranks. Moreover, they drew attention to the repercussions of the international community's "failure" to provide the necessary support to prevent this.
Libya at a brink of a new civil war
After the recent step taken by the Libyan Chamber of Deputies in Tobruk to install a new government chaired by Fathi Bachagha, and the refusal of Abdelhamid Dbeibeh, head of the Tripoli Union Government to step down, the country faces the multidimensional, political, geographic and economic split, or a third civil war.
The war in Ukraine highlights internal divisions in some Middle Eastern countries
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has revived deep divisions in the Middle East. As American influence has declined, Moscow has made powerful friends, from Shiite militias in Iraq to the Hezbollah group in Lebanon to the Houthis in Yemen.
Repercussions of the Ukrainian crisis on the "nuclear negotiations" in Vienna
The Iranian media analysts are oscillating between mistrust and certainty about the Russian position and the repercussions of the Ukrainian crisis on Vienna's path to revive the nuclear agreement on the Iranian program, while the negotiation process is approaching the moment of crossing the finish line.
Turkey and Russia in Libya
Turkey and Russia have proved to be the main external kingmakers in Libya and their presence has provoked major divisions among Western states. Moscow will take advantage of these divisions as Russia continues its “return” to African countries that were once under strong Soviet influence, including Libya.
Kurds may offer a solution in Iraqi crisis
Since the early 1990s, Iraq’s Kurdish region has been ruled by a power-sharing consensus between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), both of which command Peshmergah military forces loyal to them. In recent years, however, the PUK has been losing ground to KDP and newly emerged parties, which has undermined this arrangement. In fact, the October election twisted even further the balance of power in KDP’s advantage.
Iraq: What's next, after total US pull-out?
By the end of December, all United States military involved in operations in Iraq (which were officially terminated on December 9) will be pulled out. Whatever forces do stay behind will be charged exclusively with safeguarding American key objectives, such as the US Embassy in Baghdad, or with the training of local security forces.
Risk of escalation in Iraq?
Lately, Iraqi National Electoral Commission confirmed the victory of Moqtada Sadr Movement on the expenses of the pro-Iranian Fatah Alliance which have continuously claimed the fraud and asked justice to cancel the ballot. With a participation rate of 44%, the Sadrist party won 73 seats in the incoming parliament of the country, namely a quarter of the Parliament's seats. On the other side, Fatah Alliance got only 17 seats against 48 in the previous parliament.
Israeli-Moroccan security agreements
After a recent signing of a memorandum of understanding between Israel and Morocco, the two countries will cooperate with intelligence and common exercises on sensitive security issues. Israel does not share many of the threats facing Morocco whose main challenge has come from separatist Polissario Front movement seeking to establish an independent state in Western Sahara, which Rabat claims as its own, and from neighbouring Algeria, which supports PF.
Have the Syrian extremist groups been biased by Taliban takeover of Afghanistan?
In Syria, Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), who has gradually broken with both ISIS and Al Qaeda, has been carefully watching the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, from its stronghold in the north-western Syrian province of Idlib.
Libya not ready for election?
Libya's presidential election, meant to help unify the nation after a decade of civil war, is supposed to take place in just over a week, but calls are mounting for a delay. The vote, scheduled for December 24, is to choose Libya's first president since the ouster and killing of dictator Moammar Gaddafi, more than a decade ago.
