Syria

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Reuters reports, based on sources in Beirut, that Russia is increasing its involvement in Syria, backing the military of beleaguered dictator Bashar al-Assad. Russia appears to be offloading tanks at its Tartous naval base on the Syrian coast, and may also be establishing an interior air […]

Authoritarianism

The 3000: Why have some Tunisians joined ISIL/Daesh in Syria?

contributors

by Youssef Cherif | (Middle East Center Blog, LSE Political Science) | – – Tunisia, regarded as the Arab ‘beacon of hope’ and the cliché of Arab secularism and liberalism, raises a lot of expectations. Hence the most pressing point when Tunisia is discussed rotates around the 3000 Tunisian fighters who joined the ranks of […]

Bashar al-Assad

UN: al-Assad, ISIL, al-Qaeda committing Mass Atrocities, Endangering Int’l Security

contributors

UN News Centre | ( Office of the High Commission for Human Rights) – – Mass atrocities by Government forces and non-State armed groups continue to take place in Syria, causing immeasurable suffering to civilians and contributing to a spillover of violence affecting international peace and stability, a United Nations-appointed panel said today. The Independent […]

Displaced and Refugees

Why some European countries do more than others to help refugees

contributors

By Tim Hatton | (The Conversation) | – – Not since World War II has Europe faced a refugee crisis comparable with the situation unfolding at its borders at the moment. The European response has been, to put it mildly, ambivalent. On one hand there has been a mass outpouring of sympathy in the media […]

Authoritarianism

Those forced to Europe are mostly Regime Change Refugees

contributors

By Thalif Deen | ( Inter Press Service) | – – UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – The military conflicts and political instability driving hundreds of thousands of refugees into Europe were triggered largely by U.S. and Western military interventions for regime change – specifically in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria (a regime change in-the-making). The United […]

Displaced and Refugees

Why Don’t Rich Arab Gulf States Welcome Syrian Refugees?

contributors

By Charles Recknagel | (RFE/ RL ) | – – It's hard not to notice how almost all Syrian refugees flee westward rather than seek a safe haven in the rich Arab Persian Gulf states. Now, social-media users worldwide are increasingly raising the question of why. On Twitter, the Arabic-language hashtag #Hosting_Syria's_refugees_is_a_Gulf_duty has become a […]

Displaced and Refugees

As Syrian Refugee Boy Identified, Crisis of Conscience over Refugees

contributors

By Jon Queally, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) | – – Three-year-old Aylan Kurdi drowned along with his mother, Rehan, and older brother, Galip, while the family attempted to cross the sea from Turkey to Greece on Wednesday. A paramilitary police officer carries the lifeless body of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi after he drowned when the boat […]

Displaced and Refugees

Over 1 mn. Syrian Refugees in Lebanon fear Unrest will Expel them Again

contributors

RT | (Video News Report) – – “More than a million Syrian refugees feel unwelcome guests in Lebanon, where anti-government protests are only worsening. Many fear the Syrian scenario may repeat there and they will have to flee again.” RT: “Syrian refugees in Lebanon fear fleeing unrest again, may head to Europe”

Archaeology

Martyr to Science in Palmyra: Archeologist Khaled al-Asaad

contributors

By Pierre Leriche | (The Conversation) | – – A second ancient temple at Palmyra has been razed, with a satellite image appearing to confirm the destruction of the Temple of Bel, previously one of the best-preserved parts of the ancient city. The revelation follows the release of images by Islamic State last week showing […]