Since the death of General Soleimani in Baghdad on January 2nd as a result of a Drone Strike at the Baghdad International Airport, there has been great consternation that the Trump Administration would take such a bold step and fear that Iran will retaliate for this move.
Turkish President Erdogan is currently in a precarious situation. Turkey suffered in Syria severe military setbacks with dozens of killed. Yesterday’s agreement with Russia’s President Putin foresees a withdrawal of the Islamists supported by Turkey from a larger area to the south and east of Idlib. More than 30 Turkish soldiers died in Libya in the last few days. EU sanctions against two Turkish citizens because of the natural gas drilling off Cyprus are damaging to Erdogan’s reputation.
AMMAN — The months-long economic crisis in Lebanon peaked on Saturday, as the government announced it would be defaulting, for the first time in its history, on a $1.2 billion debt payment which was due to be paid on Monday. The payment constitutes just a small portion of the country’s $90 billion national debt, which is 170% of the nation’s GDP. Consequently, some “unpopular decisions” have become inevitable, according to the Minister of Information Manal Abdul Samad.
On March 5, Turkey and Russia reached an agreement on the “stabilization of the situation in the Idlib de-escalation area.” The agreement came after months of escalation came to a head with the Turkish “Operation Spring Shield” against government forces and its allied militias on March 1, in response to air raids that resulted in the death of 34 Turkish soldiers in Idlib province on February 27.
Following intensified fighting in Syria between Turkey and the Assad regime, thousands of refugees are fleeing the country in an effort to reach Europe.
Iran’s intervention in Syria’s civil war has provided Tehran with the ability to support its closest regional allies while simultaneously threatening Israel.
Western-backed efforts to counter terror groups across Africa are falling short, increasing the chances one or more affiliates of Islamic State or al-Qaida could try to carve out their own caliphate on the continent, according to the latest assessment by a top U.S. commander.
Dozens of Turkish troops have been killed in Syrian government air raids backed by Russia. Turkey has intensified its military operations, firing down two Syrian fighter jets as well as launching several ground attacks. It marks a dramatic escalation in the conflict between Turkey and Russian-backed forces in Syria.
Refugees, migrants, aid workers and journalists are facing an increasingly hostile environment in Greece since Turkey lifted restrictions late last month on Syrians, Afghans and others trying to reach Western Europe.
Context: Turkey’s conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – recognised as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU – continues in south-eastern Turkey and northern Iraq. In northern Syria, Ankara and the PKK’s Syrian affiliate, the People’s Protection Forces (YPG), remain pitted against each other. On the home front, Turkey is pursuing its crackdown on the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).