After an uprising and violent crackdown, Syria’s Deir ez-Zor is at a critical juncture

On Sept. 8, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a key U.S. ally, announced the end of its “Operation Security Enhancement” in Deir ez-Zor in northeast Syria. While framed as an operation targeting ISIS sleeper cells and criminals, it aimed at quashing an armed uprising led by Arab tribesmen, particularly members of the Akidat tribe. Clashes first erupted following the SDF’s arrest of Ahmed al-Khubayl (“Abu Khawla”), the commander of the Deir ez-Zor Military Council, on Aug. 27 and were led mainly by his close allies and fellow tribesmen. The rebellion grew in the following days as other tribes joined in, including those that had poor relations with Abu Khawla and had pushed for his removal for years. While multiple factors may have contributed to fueling the uprising, the importance of the region’s longstanding grievances cannot be overstated.

Erdogan links Cyprus peace talks to Turkish Cypriot status recognition

The Turkish leader doubled down on Turkey’s support to Cyprus, while EU officials said that renewed talks about the island must be based on UN resolutions.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan redoubled his calls to the international community on Thursday to recognize the Turkish Cypriot state, saying that no new talks on the divided island could happen without recognizing the equal status of Turkish Cypriots.

Explainer: Why Iraq’s Kirkuk has reached brink of conflict

Tensions flare up in Kirkuk ahead of provincial elections in December amid Arab and Turkmen fears of renewed Kurdish control of the oil-rich city.

Plagued by the oil curse and long disputed between its ethnic communities, the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk is once again teetering on the edge of civil war, with local elections just three months away.

Russia Sanctions: Opportunity For Turkey – OpEd

Recently, Turkish President Erdogan and Russian President Putin met in Sochi.

In the statement made by the Kremlin just before the Wagner rebellion in June, it was stated that Erdogan invited Putin to Türkiye and that preparations were being made. But the meeting was held in Russia, not in Türkiye as expected. The focus of the meeting was the Black Sea Grain Corridor Agreement.

Nagorno-Karabakh Receives First Aid In Months, But Route To Armenia Remains Closed

A Russian Red Cross truck carrying humanitarian aid entered Nagorno-Karabakh from the Azerbaijani city of Aghdam on September 12.

It was the first delivery of supplies to the territory in nearly three months, since Azerbaijan shut down all traffic on the Lachin corridor, the only road connecting the Armenian-populated region to the Republic of Armenia.

The Fallout in Chad from the Fighting in Darfur

War in Sudan’s Darfur region has triggered a refugee crisis in eastern Chad and raised concerns that turmoil could spread. In this Q&A, Crisis Group expert Enrica Picco draws upon research at the Chad-Sudan border to explain the challenges facing N’Djamena.

Israël et le double assassinat des frères Kennedy

En 1968, Robert Kennedy était assassiné alors qu’il venait de gagner les primaires de Californie, ce qui faisait de lui le favori dans la course présidentielle. Une fois à la Maison-Blanche, il aurait été en mesure de rouvrir l’enquête sur la mort de son frère cinq ans plus tôt, et l’on sait, par de nombreux témoignages, qu’il en avait l’intention.

The International Standards On Countering The Financing Of Terrorism

Abstract: International recommendations on countering the financing of terrorism have been accepted as the benchmark when drafting national policies against terror financing. Still, the international recommendations are yet to clarify what needs to be included in terrorist financing. This paper examines the necessity to revise the international standards catered to countering the financing of terrorism. The landscape of terrorist financing has changed since the inception of the recommendation about 20 years ago. In addition, the mechanisms in place to identify what is or is not terrorist financing are also explored to better grasp what is scrutinized as terrorist financing on the ground level. In line with that, this paper provides an insight into what could be the components of terrorist financing that need to be considered when revising the international standards on countering the financing of terrorism.

ISIS has declared the death of its leader and the appointment of a new leader

Highlights

  • On August 3, 2023, ISIS’s Al-Furqan Media Foundation released an audiotape with a statement by Abu Hudhaifa al-Ansari, ISIS’s spokesman. In the tape, the organization’s spokesman announces the death of Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi, the organization’s leader, and the appointment of Abu Hafs al-Hashemi al-Qurashi as his replacement.
  • ISIS’s spokesman blames the leader’s death on the Al-Qaeda-affiliated HTS, which is considered the dominant organization in the rebel enclave in Idlib. He denies the official version published by Turkey, according to which Al-Qurashi was killed by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT). HTS issued a statement denying its involvement in killing ISIS’s leader. It should be noted that alongside the news of his death, rumors also circulated about the ouster of the leader even before he was killed.
  • Although the date of his death is not specified on the audiotape, the ITIC estimates that he was killed in April 2023. As ISIS has done in the past, this time too, the information about the leader’s death has not been officially published by ISIS. This is apparently because the organization waited for a new leader to be chosen by the Shura Council and for establishing support and recognition for his appointment by the operatives in the various provinces.
  • This is the fourth leader of ISIS killed since the establishment of the organization. The last three leaders were killed after a relatively short term of office and it seems that their term of office is getting shorter after the first leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, served for six and a half years while the last leader served only six months. It should be noted that the short terms of office of the organization’s leaders and the high turnover of the organization’s leaders are a severe blow to ISIS’s power, capabilities, and image. It should also be noted that the four leaders were killed on Syrian soil, to which the center of gravity of the organization’s leadership has moved. All four were killed in areas where the Syrian government had limited control (Idlib and Daraa).
  • If HTS is indeed responsible for the leader’s death, this is the second time that ISIS’s leader has been killed by a rival organization in Syria. This time it is an organization affiliated with Al-Qaeda operating in the Idlib region. It is possible that his death will lead to attempts by ISIS operatives to carry out a series of acts of revenge.