The Syrian tragedy started with peaceful efforts by a large segment of the population to secure more individual freedoms, a curb on corruption, and better economic opportunities.
All the current talk about normalization and reconstruction is a subterfuge to avoid the core geopolitical aspect of this tragedy created by conflicting visions of the future, not only of Syria but of the Middle East as a whole.
Recent days have seen a build-up of military forces in the rural areas of Deir-ez-Zor, according to Baladi News.
The official spokesman for the Free Syrian Army, Abdul Razzaq Khader, refuted claims on Wednesday about preparations for a military operation in Deir-ez-Zor.
Protests have emerged in Syria due to the deteriorating economic conditions in areas controlled by the government. The city of Aleppo has also seen an expansion of these protests on Thursday. Simultaneously, a car was targeted by a Turkish drone strike in the Kurdish-controlled northeastern region of Syria on Wednesday. The strike resulted in the death of the car’s driver and inflicted injuries upon an accompanying journalist.
Ongoing protests in the rural areas of Aleppo have shed light on the monopolistic practices of the al-Anwar Company, according to al-Modon.
The ongoing protests in the rural areas of Aleppo, currently under the control of National Army factions, have shed light on the monopolistic practices of the al-Anwar Company within the northern Syrian fuel trade. Furthermore, these demonstrations have exposed the extent of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) influence in the region, particularly its dominance over the crucial oil market, a cornerstone of the local economy.
In a historic South Africa BRICS summit move, BRICS – the association of five major emerging economies, has extended invitations to six more nations: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE, and Argentina. While some laud this expansion as a step towards creating a multipolar world, others are concerned that it might merely perpetuate the old structures of power and dominance, albeit with new actors.
Terrorism has not been laid to rest in the West Bank, following continued violent attacks.
After around 18 months of deadly terrorist attacks in the West Bank focusing mainly on the Jenin and Nablus areas of the northern West Bank, terrorism abruptly returned to Hebron on Monday.
It’s not that there has been zero deadly terrorism in the Hebron area – and definitely not zero attempts at terrorist attacks or low-grade Palestinian violence.
Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Quraishi via @Visegrád24 on X (formerly known as Twitter)
On August 6, Islamic State (IS) announced its new caliph, Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Quraishi. He is now the organization’s fourth caliph since Abubakar al-Baghdadi declared the caliphate in 2014 (allarabnews.com, August 6). The announcement also dispelled the notion that the previous caliph was killed by Turkish security forces, as the Turkish government had claimed. Rather, IS blamed the formerly al-Qaeda-aligned Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) for killing the last caliph.
The al-Qaeda offshoot is focused on defending its territory from Russian-backed Syrian government forces, but it has also clashed with the Islamic State recently.
Several members of the Syrian militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham were killed in Russian airstrikes early Monday morning.
Turkey’s efforts to expand its influence in Africa often align with those of Russia, with both Ankara and Moscow holding back from condemning military coups and seeking to capitalize on post-colonial resentments.
A series of military takeovers in West Africa, the latest occurring in Niger last month, reveal the extent to which Turkish and Russian efforts converge in trying to leverage political shifts to the detriment of former colonial powers, chief among them France, and expand their own influence in the region.
US officials suggest that the Syrian jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham really was behind the death of Islamic State leader Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Quraishi.
The Islamic State confirmed the death of its most recent leader, Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Quraishi, on Aug. 3. The jihadist group said its self-styled “caliph” had been killed in clashes with the rival Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the al-Qaeda offshoot that is dominant in Syria’s Idlib province, and not by Turkey back in April, as Ankara previously claimed. IS said HTS, which it called “Turkey’s tail,” had handed his body over to Turkish intelligence in a recorded message posted on the Telegram messaging app.