Reflectii

Special Analysises

New Reports Suggest New Clashes in Northern Syria Imminent

On Friday, Syrian state-run news SANA reported that the Israelis conducted an airstrike in the suburbs outside of Aleppo in southern Syria. The target was the town of al-Safirah where the Syrians once had a major missile production facility. SANA quoted an unnamed military source who said that “at 1:30 am at dawn on Friday, the Zionist enemy launched an air aggression [sic] targeting the vicinity of Aleppo city with a number of missiles.” The source added that “the army air defenses confronted the aggression and shot down the majority of the missiles.” However, the Syrian military always claims to shoot down the “majority” of incoming missiles and those boasts are generally ignored by the majority of military analysts. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the U.K.-based watchdog for the Syrian civil war, reported that its personnel heard loud explosions in Aleppo city and the surrounding countryside in the early hours of Friday morning. They said that the Israeli rocket attack, the fourth in the past month on Syrian territory, did in fact lost some missiles due to Syrian air defenses. SOHR’s report stated that the Israeli missiles hit the area of “Defense Factories” near al-Safirah in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, where Iranian-backed militias are located. No casualties or material damage have been reported. On September 3, SOHR reported that supposed Israeli airstrikes pounded the positions of Iranian forces and Iranian-backed militias in the al-Thallathat area in al-Bokamal desert in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor. SOHR personnel on the ground documented the killing of nine Iranian-backed militia members; several others were wounded in this attack. Furthermore, SOHR sources reported that jets, said to be Israeli, also targeted a base that housed Iraqi Hezbollah troops about five kilometers away from Qallat al-Rahbah on the outskirts of al-Mayadeen city in Deir Ezzor. That attack left seven more militia fighters dead. The death toll in the airstrike is expected to rise because of the serious injuries of some casualties.

On September 2, Israeli airstrikes hit the perimeter of T4 Tiyas airbase, which is located in the eastern countryside of Homs; they also struck Iranian and Hezbollah bases in the area. Israeli intelligence believes that the T4 airbase is where the Iranians funnel all of their weapons into the country from. Israel has carried out hundreds of air and missile strikes in Syria since the civil war broke out in 2011. It has targeted Iranian and Hezbollah forces as well as government troops loyal to President Assad. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did not comment on the reported airstrikes, in accordance with their policy whereby they neither confirm nor deny any operations in Syria. However, Israel has frequently stated that Iran’s presence in support of President Bashar Assad and Hezbollah is a threat and that it will continue its strikes. Recently, Israel said that Assad carries all responsibility for anything that any foreign entity conducts inside the Syrian territory. Meanwhile, in Idlib province, SOHR reported that the Russians conducted two airstrikes in the area between Idlib city and Sheikh Yousef village. No casualties have been reported. The Idlib Post tweeted a video on Friday allegedly capturing one of the Russian strikes in northern Syria. On Wednesday, SOHR reported that five Russian jets flew over the “de-escalation zone,” and conducted several airstrikes on the western outskirts of Idlib city and the hills of Kabani in Jabal al-Akrad in northern Latakia. In addition, SOHR personnel also reported Russian reconnaissance drones flying over the “de-escalation zone,” along with renewed rocket attacks by regime forces on positions in Jabal al-Zawiyah in southern Idlib. Both the Syrian regime forces backed by the Russians and the Turkish military are moving troops near Idlib. All signs are pointing to a renewed push by Assad for Idlib.

Le Mali est-il notre Afghanistan ?

En 2013, Paris intervenait militairement dans ce pays ébranlé par un putsch, en partie occupé par des djihadistes et miné par la corruption. Sept ans plus tard, un coup d’Etat vient de renverser le président, les terroristes sont encore actifs, et la corruption règne toujours en maître.

Europa Centrală și de Est va pierde până la 70% din populație până în 2100. România, în topul țărilor cu cel mai accentuat declin demografic

Europa Centrală și de Est pierde masiv populație. Studii recente efectuate de Uniunea Europeană și de grupuri de oameni de știință de la instituții ori publicații prestigioase, precum Lancet, arată că “hemoragia” din acest sector va duce la o depopulare de anvergură în zonă, țări ca România, Bulgaria ori Ucraina urmând să piardă undeva între 50-70% din populație până în anul 2100.

Why the Pandemic Has Revived Hard-Nosed Realism

When al-Qaida targeted the centers of American financial and military power on 9/11, it believed that most of the world would welcome seeing the United States knocked down from its perch of power. Whether by accident or by design, Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida’s leader and founder, had formulated his strategy based on an interpretation of classical realist theory, predicting that countries seeking to balance against American hegemony would be disinclined to get involved in any conflict that followed the attacks.

Sweden: The Violence Is “Extremely Serious”

“The police must ensure that the criminals are arrested and can be prosecuted. The criminals need to disappear from our streets and squares so that no more ruthless crimes are committed… We work intensively, around the clock, despite this, the severe violence continues.” — Sweden’s National Police Chief Anders Thornberg, August 29, 2020.

The Balkan route – Background

2015 – 2016 (RE)BORDERIZATION

Starting in 2015, the Balkan region began to undergo a process of (re)borderization. During the summer of 2015, Hungary began to erect a 4 m tall and 175 km long fence along its border with Serbia, the first country along the so-called “Balkan Route” to do so. In the following months, the country launched new measures to guard its border, legitimized by a “state of emergency” catalyzed migration fears. Electronic sensors, electric wire, helicopters, drone patrols, the extension of up to 10,000 Hungarian authorities tasked with managing the border, all marked the rapid securitization of Hungary’s Balkan borders. By October of 2015, a second border fence was completed, running along the Hungary’s border with Croatia.