Author: M Barbu

Wave Of Anti-Regime Protests In Southern Syria: Long Live Syria; Down With Bashar Al-Assad

Several weeks ago a wave of protests and demonstrations broke out in Syria, especially in the Al-Suwayda and Daraa governorates in the south, which are officially under the rule of the regime but where the regime’s security control is weak. The protests include expressions of opposition to the regime and its head, President Bashar Al-Assad, and slogans reminiscent of the first stages of the Syrian uprising in 2011, such as “the people want to topple the regime,” “long live Syria and down with Bashar Al-Assad,” and “Syria belongs to us, not to the Assad family.” There were also calls to expel Iran and Hizbullah from Syria.

US slaps sanctions on Islamic State network in Turkey

The US Treasury Department designated four individuals and two entities accused of enabling the terrorist group’s recruitment and financial transfers.

The US Treasury Department on Thursday designated what it described as a Turkey-based financial network of the Islamic State (IS) that moved funds to and from Syria and Iraq. 

Wagner Group Continues Expanding Through West Africa

There are recent reports that the Russia-based Wagner Group is trying to expand its operations into Burkina Faso.

While officials within the government of Burkina Faso have denied this, there have been signs of closer relations with the Russian Federation that would make Wagner’s expansion into the country unsurprising.

Iran Escalates Crackdown in Latest Attempt to Quell Uprising

Iranian leaders are considering the possibility of offering concessions while simultaneously escalating their crackdown against protesters in an effort to quell the three-month-old uprising.

Hardliners in the regime believe that executing protesters will cause the woman-led unrest to subside.
Regime moderates have criticized the executions and seek to end enforcement of some of the restrictions that triggered the uprising.

Trends In Terrorism: What’s On The Horizon In 2023? – Analysis

The most defining feature of international terrorism in 2023 will be its diversity, reflected by the broad array of ideologies and grievances motivating plots and attacks. The Islamic State, the most significant terrorist threat since the global counterterrorism campaign to dismantle al-Qaeda in the immediate years following 9/11, has been attenuated in Iraq and Syria, losing two of its emirs in 2022. Outside of the Levant, Islamic State branches and affiliates remain potent, especially in the Sahel region of Africa and in South Asia, where the Islamic State Khorasan Province is waging a stubborn insurgency against the Taliban. The Islamic State Khorasan Province has launched high-profile attacks against both Russian and Chinese interests in Afghanistan. Still, Western counterterrorism successes may not be sustainable without a robust commitment to continue working with partners on the ground to ensure that these groups do not reconstitute. Without continued US and allied pressure, it is likely that Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and their respective branches and franchise groups could successfully rebuild their networks in the Middle East and beyond.

How Ukraine’s ‘Great Reconstruction’ Brought Great Rewards For Company Linked To Dnipropetrovsk’s Government And An FBI Fugitive – Analysis

It was a $41 million government payout to a company co-owned by a fitness trainer and a basketball team executive to repair part of Ukraine’s lifeline in its nearly yearlong struggle against Russia’s invasion: public roads in the southeastern region of Dnipropetrovsk. And it made up part of Kyiv’s highest such payout for all of war-torn Ukraine — to a region estimated to have suffered comparatively minimal damage.

Tehran’s Shiification Of Syria: Iran’s Hegemonic Drive – Analysis

After a bloody war that saw hundreds of thousands killed and millions displaced over a decade, Syria has been effectively divided into spheres of influence and de facto protectorates controlled by regional and international powers. Foremost among these has been Iran, which has come to exert huge influence not only over the Assad regime but also within Syrian society as a whole through a systematic Shiification strategy that has changed the country’s sociocultural character—a risky game in a region long afflicted by sectarian, religious, and ethnic conflicts.

SDF arrests several ISIS suspects during ongoing operation

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Tuesday announced the arrest of several Islamic State (ISIS) suspects during a recently-launched operation against the group in northeast Syria (Rojava).

The SDF on Thursday announced a new anti-ISIS mission dubbed Operation al-Jazeera Thunderbolt, targeting the terror group’s hotspots in northeast Syria’s al-Hol and Tal Hamis. The force later expanded the campaign to Syria-Iraq borders.

Turkey’s overtures to Assad all about crushing Syrian Kurds’ autonomy

Turkey’s security establishment remains immutably opposed to the consolidation of any form of Kurdish autonomy in Syria that would mirror Kurdish gains in neighboring Iraq.

Turkey’s overtures to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, with last week’s meeting in Moscow between the Turkish and Syrian defense ministers, continue to resonate. Unsurprisingly, one of the most realistic assessments came from the one group that understands Turkish thinking best: the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Special Military Operation: results of 2022 and outlook for 2023

Katehon think tank

On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine. The objectives of the Special Military Operation were the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, the elimination of the military threat coming from the Kiev regime to the Donbass republics (DPR and LPR). The conflict immediately took on a global character: NATO and EU countries, led by the United States, as well as New Zealand and Australia began providing military support to Ukraine, setting as their goal the military defeat of Russia. Sanctions were imposed against Moscow, its gold and foreign exchange reserves frozen, and Western business began to leave Russia. The Special Military Operation became a challenge for Russia itself, both militarily and politically, ideologically and economically.