Russia-Ukraine War Has Entered A Period Of Attrition – Analysis

The downing of a US drone by Russian military aircraft over the Black Sea on March 14 is the kind of incident that immediately sparks fears of the conflict in Ukraine escalating into a shooting war between NATO and Russia.

While the potential for such a scenario exists, it is likely that at this stage all sides will try to calm matters down. Neither the US-led West nor Russia is currently prepared for or have the desire for a direct confrontation with each other.

Le chef d’Aqmi Abou Obeida Youssef al-Annabi répond à 17 questions de France 24

Après un an d’intenses tractations, Wassim Nasr, le spécialiste des mouvements jihadistes à France 24, est parvenu en exclusivité à envoyer ses questions à l’émir d’Al-Qaïda au Maghreb islamique (Aqmi), Abou Obeida Youssef al-Annabi. Départ de Barkhane, menace terroriste sur la France, stratégie d’expansion vers le Golfe de Guinée… notre chroniqueur décrypte et met en contexte les réponses du chef de l’organisation terroriste.

The clash of two cities: Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and the future of Iraq’s Kurdistan

The most successful Kurdish political experiment in West Asia is unravelling due to increasing divisions between the KDP and PUK, the two biggest political parties in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Iraq’s Kurds, as with other mainly Iranic populations across western and southern Asia, are busy preparing to celebrate Nowruz on March 21, the Persian new year which marks the beginning of Spring.

Erbil oil revenues to come under Iraqi supervision

The move continues a trend reversing aspects of Kurdish autonomy gained since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq

For the first time since 2002, oil revenues from Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will be transferred to a bank account supervised by the Iraqi central government, state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported on 17 March, citing the prime minister’s media adviser Hisham al-Rekaby.

Dead on arrival: The US plan to train PA ‘special forces’ in the West Bank

Despite being in conflict with armed resistance factions in the West Bank, Palestinian Authority forces have also collaborated with them, posing a challenge to those who seek to divide Palestinians.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has reportedly agreed to implement a controversial US proposal aimed at restoring its control over northern West Bank areas that are currently dominated by newly formed Palestinian resistance groups. However, the plan, lacking an understanding of the realities on the ground, may have unintended consequences.

Who Undermines Fragile Peace In BiH? – Analysis

The situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is becoming increasingly complicated, not just because of the intensification of the armed conflict in Ukraine, but also because of the process of establishment of the government after the general elections in October 2022.

France’s New Strategy For Africa – Analysis

Ever since his first term in 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron has sought a broad reset of national strategy, relations and intervention in Africa owing to France’s complicated and chequered historical legacy in the continent.

Iraq In 2023: Challenges And Prospects For Peace And Human Security – Analysis

Over the past two decades Iraq has been affected by several waves of intense conflict and violence. The 2003 invasion of Iraq by a multinational coalition led by the United States and United Kingdom toppled the Ba’athist regime of Saddam Hussein. It also ushered in years of chaos and civil war, as a variety of armed groups vied for power and territory and targeted coalition forces and the fledgling post-Ba’athist Iraqi Army. A period of relative calm in the early 2010s was broken by the rise of the extremist Islamic State group, which occupied large parts of the country from 2014 until it was largely defeated by Iraqi forces with the support of a US-led international coalition in 2017.