Syria

Jack Segal | International Affairs Forum (Traverse City) | – “For three decades, Juan Cole, Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan has sought to put the relationship of the West and the Muslim world in historical context. This conversation will add to that endeavor. Beyond the Headlines is hosted […]

al-Qaeda

Syria: Al-Qaeda takes Jisr al-Shughur, threatening Key Port

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – A coalition of extremist groups with al-Qaeda ties managed on Saturday to take the city of Jisr al-Shughur from the Syrian army. Among them were fighters of the Support Front (Jabhat al-Nusra) and the Islamic Movement of the Free Men of the Levant (Ahrar al-Sham). Also involved was […]

Jabhat al-Nusra

Assad: Syria has ‘no relation’ with Hamas, will Never Trust it Again

contributors

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Syrian regime no longer has any relationship with former ally Hamas and will never trust the movement again, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview published Friday. “There is no relation at all on the formal level or on the popular level,” the president told Swedish newspaper Expressen, adding, “I […]

al Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula

Juan Cole: Syria, Yemen Conflicts only seem to be about Sunni-Shiite from 30,000 Feet

Juan Cole

David Speedie | (Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs) | – David Speedie of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs interviewed me in New York on Monday. Below is an excerpt of the transcript, but the whole thing is at their web site. Also below is the video of the interview. DAVID […]

Bashar al-Assad

Situation in Besieged Yarmouk Camp ‘One of the Most Severe Ever’

contributors

By Josh Butler | UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – The head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees has described the situation inside the Syrian refugee camp of Yarmouk, under attack by Islamic State (IS) militants, as “one of the most severe ever” for the already spartan camp. Fighters allegedly from the IS, and al-Qaeda […]

Displaced and Refugees

Hamas forces join fight against ISIL in Damascus refugee camp

contributors

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — An official in the support network for the Palestinian refugee camps in Syria said Sunday that a Hamas-affiliated group is fighting the Islamic State in Damascus’ Yarmouk refugee camp. Ayman Abu Hashem told Ma’an that the Aknaf Bayt al-Maqdes group was fighting IS despite a decision by PLO factions to remain neutral […]

Featured

Syria: ISIL Conquest of Yarmouk Palestinian Camp refutes Israeli Propaganda

Juan Cole

Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – On Wednesday, the extremist Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) group, known for its brutal beheadings and mass murder, took over the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp inside Damascus city limits. Palestinian women and Christians and male secularists are at special risk now. Had they been living normally in their homes in what […]

al-Qaeda

A Game-Changer in Syrian War? al-Qaeda-led Factions take Idlib

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – The provincial capital Idlib, a city of 165,000 in the old days and administrative center of the northwestern Idlib province, appears to have fallen completely to a Muslim fundamentalist coalition spearheaded by Ahrar al-Sham (Free Men of Syria) and the al-Qaeda affiliate, the Support Front (Jabhat al-Nusra). Most […]

Assyrians

Assyrian Christians and the ISIS Assault on the Remains of Nineveh

contributors

By Adam H. Becker | (Informed Comment) In their sanctimonious showboating ISIS has trashed the ruins of ancient Assyria and this is a loss for world cultural heritage and more so for Iraqis and whatever national culture will exist whenever the political situation finally becomes stable. However, Assyrian Christians, who themselves have suffered kidnapping and […]