Arab World

The Economist | (Video News Report) | – – “Mosul stands on the brink of recapture from Islamic State fighters, but the future of the city is uncertain. With several parties jostling for control of Mosul, fragile alliances could fracture, increasing the likelihood of bloody sectarian conflict.” The Economist: “Why Mosul Matters”

Qatar

Saudi-Led Group: Qatar to be Sanctioned for ‘Negative’ Response to Demands

contributors

TeleSur | – – Saudi Arabia said restrictions on Qatar will continue, but it did not announce new sanctions against Doha. Foreign ministers from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain have issued a statement on Wednesday saying that Doha’s response to their demands to end the crisis was “negative” and current restrictions […]

Iraq

Iraqis Travel to Mosul to Celebrate Holy Day in a Show of Solidarity

contributors

By Sali Mahdy | (GlobalVoices.org) | – – A group of around 300 Iraqis recently traveled from south and central Iraq to Mosul to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday with their newly liberated compatriots. In the summer of 2014, the militant group Islamic State (also known as ISIS, ISIL, and Daesh) drove out Iraqi security […]

Featured

Leftist Kurds with US Air Support breach Walls of ISIL Capital, enter Old City

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Al Jazeera reports that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) supported by the US Air Force and other international allies, has breached the walls around the old city of al-Raqqa in eastern Syria and managed to get into the old city itself. Al-Raqqa is the capital of […]

Iraq

Iraq united to defeat ISIL, but can it avoid Break-up Afterwards?

contributors

By Dylan O’Driscoll | ( OpenDemocracy.net ) | – – Multiple segments of the population, including at elite level, have come together in the fight against IS and now the time has come for this effort to extend beyond the battle. The Iraqi army recaptured Mosul’s historical al-Nuri mosque and its leaning minaret on June […]

censorship

UN: Saudi Bloc attempt to close Al Jazeera is attack on Freedom of Expression

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Reuters reports that U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, is “extremely concerned by the demand that Qatar close down the Al Jazeera network, as well as other affiliated media outlets.” The statement was released by UNCHR spokesman Rupert Colville. Colville added: “Whether or […]

Syria

Syria: as anti-ISIL Fight enters End Game, Civilian Casualties Spike

contributors

By Roshni Majumdar | (Inter Press Service) | – – UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – As US-backed Syrian rebels plow ahead in the fight to take back Raqqa from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria, the stake of civilian lives, who number as many as 100,000 in the city, has raised […]

Iraq

Freeing Fayza: A Journey to War-Torn Iraq to Rescue a Yazidi ISIL Slave Girl

Juan Cole

By: Brian Glyn Williams and Christopher Natola | (Informed Comment) | – – It began with an electrifying text message from a Yazidi member of a network dedicated to freeing Yazidis (an ancient people from Northern Iraq who adhere to a faith rooted in old Iranian religion and influenced by Sufi mysticism). The message was […]

Children

Demand-Side Slavery, Libyan Instability and European Crime Networks

Neil Thompson

Neil Thompson | (Informed Comment) | – – After several years in which refugees and migration have featured heavily in the Western media narrative, a disturbing correlation between human trafficking and conflict zones is well established. But new studies indicate that conflicts do not just cause human trafficking as refugees seek to flee warzones; wars […]