A Risky Role for Russian Peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh

When Russian peacekeepers arrived in Nagorno-Karabakh as part of a ceasefire deal between Azerbaijan and Armenian, they found it empty, blanketed in a thick November fog. After 44 days of brutal war, most [people] had fled, not believing the fighting was over. A year later, the region’s main city of Stepanakert is no longer a ghost town. Most of its residents have returned, followed by thousands of Armenians displaced from territories won over by Azerbaijani forces in the conflict. The scars of war are everywhere — damaged buildings, craters caused by missiles, and photos of the dead and missing hung for passers-by — but elders gossip on city stoops while children are playing in the streets once again. That renewed sense of security is largely thanks to the Russian presence there.

Grappling with Bosnia’s Dual Crises

What is behind the current crisis in Bosnia?

Bosnia and Herzegovina (commonly referred to as Bosnia) is facing a dual challenge that threatens to undo the agreement that ended a war between Serbs, Croats and Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks). The war was marked by the worst atrocities on European soil since World War II, with more than 100,000 people killed and more than two million displaced. By way of talks in Dayton, Ohio, the U.S. brokered peace agreements that brought the fighting to a close and established a Bosnian state composed of two self-governing regions: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Republika Srpska. Republika Srpska is divided into eastern and western halves, which are joined at the centre by the Brčko autonomous region.

SOHR: 900 Syrian fighters return from Nagorno-Karabakh

More than 900 pro-Turkish Syrian fighters have returned to Syria after the end of fighting in the disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh, a British-based Syrian war monitor said Wednesday.

A November 9 truce ended more than a month of fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the ethnic Armenian enclave that broke away from Baku’s control in a war in the 1990s.

SDF separatist forces between Turkey and Russia

On the evening of Tuesday 9 November, Turkish warplanes targeted separatist elements of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Syrian city of Qamishli. The drone attack is not the first of its kind in the city, as it was preceded by similar attacks in the city and Ain Al-Arab (Kobani) before it.

Assassination in Idlib | Iranian jihadist killed by unknown

Idlib province: SOHR activists have reported new assassination took place in the past few hours in Idlib city against an Iranian jihadist by unknow gunmen in al-Sheikh Thols neighborhood in middle of Idlib city while he was leaving his house for praying al-Fajr.

Later, HTS security forces have cordoned off the scene of crime and told the body to unknown place.

Secret Document for Normalization of Ties with Damascus Includes Exit of Foreign Forces

Jordan’s document and its confidential addendum for normalizing ties with Damascus display that the final goal for Arab countries restoring their relationship with the Syrian capital is that foreign forces and fighters exit Syria.

According to the document, which Asharq Al-Awsat reviewed, US and International Coalition forces in northeastern Syria and Al-Tanf military base near borders with Jordan and Iraq would also need to withdraw from the war-torn country.

Iraq’s Election Raises More Questions Than Answers

One-time U.S. foe emerges as top vote-getter but could still struggle to form the next government.

Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shia cleric whose Mahdi Army followers battled U.S. forces during the years of the occupation, made big gains in Iraq’s parliamentary election on October 10. His victory could pose problems for the United States and Iran. But despite the Sadrist List’s electoral success, it is not a given that al-Sadr’s list will form the government, or even be the only kingmaker. USIP’s Elie Abouaoun examines the outcome of the election, the electoral process and the implications for Iraq’s future.

Rusia intenționează să preia puterea. „Susține infrastructura României o operațiune militară în Marea Neagră?”

Odată cu anexarea Peninsulei Crimeea de către Rusia în luna martie a anului 2014, Marea Neagră a devenit ținta unor tensiuni militare care au ajuns în unele cazuri inclusiv la confruntare. Demersul Rusiei nu a făcut altceva decât să îi ofere acesteia „un avantaj geostrategic clar – transformarea rapidă a peninsulei într-un bastion al forţelor navale şi aeriene”, a transmis șeful Statului Major al Apărării, Daniel Petrescu. Prezintă România, însă, infrastructura de care are nevoie în cazul în care se va impune o intervenție de urgență a forțelor aliate?

Mutiny in Serbia: How a State Security Unit’s Rebellion Went Unpunished

In November 2001, the Serbian State Security Service’s Special Operations Unit staged a mutiny and set up roadblocks. The failure to punish the instigators of the armed revolt would have deadly consequences for the country’s prime minister.

“The commander ordered that the Communication Centre will no longer receive calls,” said a note entered at 5.10pm on November 9, 2001 in the daily log of the Communication Centre in Kula, the headquarters of Serbia’s State Security Special Operations Unit, the JSO.