Syria

By Ingvild Bode | (The Conversation) | – – Since 2012, the war in Syria has lurched from one escalation to another. Syrians have been subjected to large-scale military force not only by their own government, but also by an array of rebel groups, Islamic State (IS), a US-led coalition and other states. The results […]

Russia

Syria: Instead of a Cease-Fire, have Great Powers unleashed new Proxy Wars?

contributors

By Baher Kamal | (Inter Press Service) | – – MADRID (IPS) – – When 25 million Syrians–half of them refugees abroad or at home and the other half terrorised by daily bombing, learnt that major world leaders in their meeting in Germany launched an unprecedented confrontation threatening with unleashing World War III, instead of […]

Kurds

Has the Turkish-Saudi direct Military Intervention in Syria Begun?

Neil Thompson

London (Informed Comment) – The news that Turkey has begun military strikes against the Kurdish People’s Defense Units (YPG) militia inside Syria marks an ominous chapter in that country’s civil war. Turkey acted after YPG forces and allied units from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) seized the strategic Mennagh Military Airport in northern Aleppo […]

Palestine

Palestinian Refugees in Syria, besieged by ISIL, receive critical UN Aid at Last amid Faltering Ceasefire

contributors

TeleSur | – – Humanitarian aid has reached refugees in the Syrian town of Yarmouk, on the outskirts of Damascus, for the first time in nine months, according to UNRWA, the U.N. Agency for Palestine refugees. In a statement released Saturday night, UNRWA spokesperson Christopher Gunness said the agency "did not enter the camp itself" but reached the nearby […]

Russia

Russia Says World in ‘New Cold War’ over Syria

contributors

TeleSur | – – "Sometimes I wonder if it’s 2016 or if we live in 1962," Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told the Munich Security Conference, Saturday. The world has sunk into a “new Cold War” as a result of the mounting tensions between Russia and the West over conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry […]

Central Intelligence Agency

Despite Syria Cease Fire, Belligerents Plot military Victory

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Despite the announcement at Munich of a cessation of hostilities in Syria, to be implemented in the next week or so, all the major fighting forces in Syria have announced a determination to soldier on. According to the London pan-Arab daily al-Hayat [Life] , Russian foreign […]

Russia

The Costs That Come With Russia’s Gains In Syria

contributors

Charles Recknagel | ( RFE/RL | – – With Russia's monthslong air campaign in Syria now focused on a key rebel stronghold, Moscow can claim success in putting its stamp on the conflict and strengthening the hand of its ally, President Bashar al-Assad. Concentrated on the northern province of Aleppo, the bombing campaign launched in […]

Russia

Russia Warns of ‘World War’ as Saudi Plans Syria Intervention

contributors

TeleSur | – – Saudi Arabia’s decision to send troops to Syria is “final” and “irreversible,” Saudi military spokesman Ahmed Al-Assiri told reporters Thursday evening as he confirmed earlier comments about sending troops to the country. But Russia has warned the move could mark the beginning of a new “world war.” Assiri added that Riyadh […]

Displaced and Refugees

Turkey must not strand new Wave of Syrian Refugees, & nor should Europe

contributors

Human Rights Watch | – – (Istanbul) – Turkey should allow Syrians at its border fleeing the fighting in and around Aleppo to seek protection in Turkey, Human Rights Watch said today. Forcing people to remain in a war zone, where they risk death and injury, is no solution to the challenge of protecting Syrians […]