The Syrian Observer sits with Bassam al-Kuwatli, one of the co-founders of Ahrar, a liberal political party.
The Syrian opposition’s story after the revolution was a story of coalitions. A countless number of coalitions have been formed. No one claimed that they own a platform that leads them in the right direction for a future Syria.
Israel claimed responsibility for a recent airstrike on a convoy that had entered Syria from Iraq, according to al-Araby al-Jadeed.
The chief of Israel’s armed forces on Wednesday claimed responsibility for a recent airstrike on a convoy that had entered Syria from Iraq, claiming the target was a truck carrying weaponry.
The fighters were killed in the past five days on the fronts of Hama, Idleb and Aleppo, according to Orient News.
Loyalists mourned several members of Assad’s militia, including officers, who were killed over the past few days on the northern Syrian fronts. The victims died during attacks carried out by local factions of the Al-Fatah al-Mubin Operations Room, which were perceived as a response to massacres carried out in camps in Idleb governorate.
This week, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) marked the 27th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA), which ended the three-and-a-half-year (1992-1995). Since then, BiH, a war-ravaged country, has struggled with overcoming the past and moving forward toward genuine cooperation and reconciliation, which requires recognizing the past, finding common ground, making a commitment to BiH’s future, and building a sense of unity and national pride.
Iraqi officials are blaming the Islamic State (IS) terror group for an attack Sunday that killed at least nine police officers in the northern province of Kirkuk.
A bomb struck a police vehicle on patrol in the southern part of Kirkuk, Iraqi state media reported. The explosion was quickly followed by firefight when gunmen, reportedly affiliated with IS, attacked the car.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Iraqi security sources told local media that IS elements were likely behind it.
Yahya Rasool, a military spokesman for the Iraqi government said the country’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has directed the head of the federal police to start an investigation into the attack.
Rakan Saeed al-Jubouri told the Iraqi News Agency the Sunday attack “will not go without punishment for the terrorist elements,” calling on improving the security of his province.
IS militants in recent weeks have been exploiting the volatile security situation in Kirkuk and nearby provinces, an Iraqi lawmaker said.
“Many villagers in the area have left their homes and IS terrorists are now using those villages as hideouts,” Sheikh Wasfi al-Asi, a member of the Iraqi parliament who represents Kirkuk, told VOA, adding that “one solution to prevent such attacks is arming the local youth and embedding them within the Iraqi security forces.”
Despite its territorial defeat, IS remains active in several provinces of Iraqi’s north, particularly in areas that are considered “disputed” between the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government.
On Wednesday, a military officer and two soldiers were killed after an improvised explosive device (IED) attack targeted their vehicle in an area north of the capital, Baghdad, local media reported.
Military officials said the terror group’s movement also depends on the political environment in the country.
IS, which is a Sunni Muslim group, “had been deploying militants to Baghdad, hoping to take advantage of an anticipated political strife between Shiite groups,” said Muhammed Rustam, an officer with the Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
“But now that they know there won’t be any major political conflict among Shiites, we see them rebuild their presence and carry out more attacks in disputed areas,” he told VOA.
Colossal structural shifts are taking place in the global economy, as evidenced by the huge challenges during the ongoing year. In 2023, China seeks recovery, but the West – the US, the Eurozone and the UK, and Japan – will cope with recession and the specter of a debt crisis.
In a recent Foreign Affairs commentary, Mohamed A. El-Erian warned that we are not facing just extraordinarily challenging business-cycle fluctuations, but structural and secular long-term pressures. As a result, “the global economy may never be the same.”
Anatoly Nesmiyan, who blogs under the screen name “El Murid,” says that Putin is putting in place “a mechanism for conducting permanent war since his regime cannot exist in a peaceful form” and must find enemies in order to justify the kind of rule the Kremlin leader prefers in Russia.
Switzerland has been hosting discreet meetings between officials of Kosovo and Serbia in an effort to defuse tensions in the Balkan region.
A stand-off has developed in northern Kosovo with its Serbian neighbours as an incident over car number plates has escalated.
Kārtējo reizi saasinoties spriedzei etnisko serbu apdzīvotajos Kosovas ziemeļos, Kosovas vadība oficiāli paziņoja par pieteikuma dalībai Eiropas Savienībā (ES) nosūtīšanu uz Briseli. Paralēli Eiropas Parlaments (EP) un ES šobrīd prezidējošā valsts Čehija vienojās par atbalstu bezvīzu režīma ar Kosovu ieviešanai, kas gan iespējams tikai ar visu ES dalībvalstu piekrišanu.
The US and its Kurdish allies have continuously looted oil and other resources from Syria’s northeastern province
On 14 December, Syria renewed its call for a complete withdrawal of all US forces from the country’s northeastern provinces.