Orientul Mijlociu

Turkey’s Caucasian diaspora to help kinsmen fleeing Russian draft

The Caucasian community in Turkey is treading carefully in an initiative to help kinsmen fleeing Moscow’s military call-up, wary of coming off as encouraging draft evasion and angering Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s appeal to Russia’s ethnic peoples to resist the Kremlin’s military call-up has reverberated beyond Russia’s borders, including in Turkey where a vibrant Caucasian diaspora has joined forces to help those fleeing conscription for the war in Ukraine.

Iraq situation ‘highly volatile,’ envoy warns Security Council

The UN’s envoy to Iraq delivered a scathing indictment of the country’s political class during today’s Security Council briefing, decrying its exposure of the population to severe risks.

Amid attempts to quell violence in cities across Iraq, a UN official stressed Tuesday that “the smallest spark can suffice to trigger a major disaster.”

Syrian government gears up for major military operation against IS in the desert

Syrian government forces are deployed in the Syrian desert in preparation for a large campaign against the Islamic State.

Media sources from Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria told Al-Monitor that government forces instructed members in Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa to mobilize ahead of a major military operation in the Badia region of the Syrian desert. The operation will comb the Deir ez-Zor-Homs-Raqqa-Hama countryside at the behest of Russia, according to the sources.

Turkey-Libya energy deal clouds waters in East Mediterranean

An energy deal signed between Turkey and the Libyan administration of  Abdul Hamid Dbeibah on Monday has brought a reaction from Greece, EU and Libya’s eastern-based parliament.

Turkey reacted angrily Tuesday to criticisms over the hydrocarbons accord it signed with Libya’s Tripoli-based government, which allows Turkish and Libyan companies to carry out joint explorations in the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey’s Erdogan to meet Armenian PM at Europe conference

Armenia’s Nikol Pashinyan announced plans for the meeting, which may be a step towards peace with Azerbaijan.

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told the Armenian parliament today that he would be meeting Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a European conference tomorrow in Prague.

Cyprus’s ‘State of Emergency’: Turkey’s ‘Weaponization’ of Illegal Mass Migration

The Cypriot government says that Turkey is orchestrating this illegal immigration crisis, as most migrants coming to Cyprus travel from Turkey. They reportedly fly from Istanbul or Ankara to the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus, are then smuggled to the free, southern part of the Republic of Cyprus, and from there, under EU law, can apply for asylum.

Iran Closes Border With Pakistan Amid Deadly Crackdown

Iran sealed a main crossing point with Pakistan on Sunday amid deadly unrest and a crackdown on protesters in Zahedan, a southeastern Iranian city near the border.

Violence broke out in the capital of the Iranian Sistan and Balochistan province during Friday prayers, after worshipers in the city’s Makki Mosque called for a protest over the rape of a 15-year-old girl, allegedly by a local military commander.