On the banks of a mountain river outside Tajikistan’s capital, in a resort area teeming with hotels and dachas, stands a modern, two-story building flanked by towering trees and lattice fence panels.
The state-owned sanatorium near Dushanbe is usually reserved for high-ranking Tajik officials who flock there on weekends or for short vacations.
At least 100 worshippers have been killed or injured after a suicide bomber targeted a Shia mosque, in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz, according to news reports, during Friday prayers.
The UN chief condemned the “horrific” attack “in the strongest terms”, noting that it represents the third assault on a religious institution, in less than a week.
Turkish-backed Syrian opposition factions have reportedly received instructions to deploy in Idlib soon, amid reports that a merger with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is imminent.
Syrian opposition media sources are reporting that the Syrian National Army (SNA) affiliated with the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) will be widely deployed in the city of Idlib, in northwestern Syria, which is under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Talks on the sale of Turkish armed drones and combat helicopters to Iraq have hit snags amid Iraqi efforts to extract concessions on contentious issues in bilateral ties.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been eager to boost military sales to foreign buyers, but his foreign policy often snags his ambitions. International interest in Turkey’s flourishing defense industry has risen since the Azerbaijani-Armenian war over Nagorno-Karabakh last year, in which the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 armed drones were widely touted as key to Azerbaijan’s military success. Most recently, Iraq has expressed interest in buying TB2 drones and attack helicopters from Turkey, but Baghdad’s efforts to attach strings to the deal has thrown a spanner in the works.
During an interview with Al-Monitor, Syrian National Coalition President Salem al-Meslet discussed recent US sanctions on Ahrar al-Sharqiya, the human rights situation in northern Syria and the US military presence in the war-torn country.
The head of the exiled Syrian opposition acknowledges human rights violations committed by Turkish-backed fighters in northern Syria but says recent US sanctions have helped rein in the lawless proxy groups.
Turkey appears to be maneuvering to expand an Islamic state in Syria and Iraq.
The same Turkish government that claims to counter “terrorism” through its fight against the Kurdish PKK has supported ISIS in the region for years.
“The ability of ISIS to become a functioning state so quickly is largely due to its relationship with President Erdoğan in Turkey.” — Dr. Mordechai Kedar, BESA Center, October 11, 2020.
PJSC LUKOIL announced Thursday the conclusion of an agreement on acquiring 15.5% interest in the Shah Deniz natural gas project in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea from PETRONAS. The value of the transaction will amount to $2.25 billion, and the completion is subject to fulfilment of conditions precedent, including approval by SOCAR, the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic.
A leading Syrian Kurdish politician said on Thursday the United States will stay on in Syria to destroy Islamic State, build infrastructure and remain a player in the search for a political settlement after more than 10 years of civil war.
The Kurds, who live in the mountainous region straddling the borders of Syria, Armenia, Iraq, Iran and Turkey, carved out self-rule across northeast Syria during the civil war that began in 2011.
What can help allay perceptions of marginalization and tension in the district?
Iraq is a country beset by a host of political, security, economic and social challenges, including addressing the human legacy of the Islamic State’s (ISIS) rampage through the country just a few years ago. Almost four years after the liberation of Nineveh’s Tal Afar district from ISIS control, feelings of marginalization, neglect and exclusion persist among communities in the region, epitomizing how such feelings have driven ethnic and sectarian tensions and conflict in post-2003 Iraq. Recognition of these sentiments and an understanding of the factors underpinning them, can help communities in the district allay these drivers of tension and move forward together.
Despite new electoral system and process, elections may deliver far more modest outcomes than the people demand and need.
On October 10, Iraq will hold national parliamentary elections, the fifth national elections since Iraq adopted its 2005 constitution. And despite waning expectations about what these elections might accomplish, they remain an important avenue for pursuing change through peaceful means. Once the new parliament is elected, it will have the task of choosing a new speaker of parliament, president, prime minister and cabinet in what is usually a protracted, months-long process.