Terrorism

SANAA, December 2014 (IRIN) — After a negotiated transfer of power agreed in early 2012, the annual death toll dropped to about 1,100 and nearly halved again in 2013 to fewer than 600, according to the International Crisis Group. The uptick in violence in 2014 is the result of a number of distinct but inter-related […]

Iraq

Iraq: Yezidis return home to find Mass Graves, Daesh/ISIL Massacres

contributors

Euronews | — “Yazidi refugees from the Iraqi village of Hardan returned to their homes for the first time on Tuesday after being driven out by Islamic militants in August. They were hoping to find out what happened to their friends and family who were captured by ISIL. What they discovered confirmed their worst fears: […]

Featured

The Year Iraq Ceased to Exist: Will it ever Again?

Juan Cole

In 2014, Iraq was said to lose 42% of its territory to Daesh (the Arabic acronym for what our press calls ISIS or ISIL). This statistic refers to the loss of the mostly Sunni Arab provinces of al-Anbar and Ninewah, as well as parts of Salahuddin and Diyala. It is a little bit misleading, since […]

Human Rights

Saudi Women who dared Drive to be tried in Terrorism Court

contributors

DeutscheWelle English | — “Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that bans women from driving. Two women who did just that have been in custody for nearly a month – and they may now be charged with terrorism because they used social media.” DW: “Saudi women drivers fear terror charges | Journal”

Iraq

Senior Kurdish Politician: Kirkuk is ours; if Arabs & Turkmen want it, let them fight ISIL for it as we do

contributors

Shalaw Mohammed | Sulaymaniyah | (Niqash.org) Senior Iraqi Kurdish politician Mullah Bakhtiar discusses his party’s relationship with Iran and with Kurdish parties in Syria – and in particular, in Kobani and Rojava, as well as whether anyone should be concerned about the unofficial Shiite Muslim militias behaving badly in northern Iraq. The head of the […]

Nawaz Sharif

Pakistan: Judge orders arrest of cleric accused of refusing to condemn Taliban Massacre at School

contributors

Reuters | — “A judge orders the arrest of a senior Pakistan cleric accused of refusing to condemn the school massacre in Peshawar. Paul Chapman reports.” Reuters: “Arrest call for Pakistan cleric”

Bashar al-Assad

Baathist Riposte: How the Regime Came back in the Syrian Civil War in 2014

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) — In the course of 2014, two major trends, long since visible in the Syrian civil war, were strengthened. First, the Baath regime of Bashar al-Assad continued to assert control over most urban areas along the trunk roads of the west of the country. Damascus, Homs, Hama, Latakia and […]

Apartheid

Israeli Occupation military demolishes dairy factory in Hebron, Palestinian West Bank

contributors

HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli forces on Thursday destroyed a dairy factory in the Hebron village of al-Burj, the owner told Ma’an. Yasser Muhammad Salim Masharqa said that Israeli forces and civil administration officers escorted two bulldozers to the village and demolised the steel structure, which measures 2000 square meters. Cements rooms measuring 400 square meters […]

Iraq

Iraq: Extremists of Daesh/ ISIL on the Move in Mosul in Response to Kurdish Advance

contributors

Khales Joumah | Mosul | (Niqash.org) Last week’s victory over the extremist Islamic State group in the Sinjar area has had a significant effect on the extremist-controlled city of Mosul. Foreign fighters have left, the city is flooded with refugees and supply routes are cut off. Locals are afraid of what comes next. Extremist fighters […]