There is no doubt that minors are fighting in the ranks of the YPG, a Syrian Kurdish militia that controls most of the country’s northeast, but just how widespread is this phenomenon?
After years of ambiguity, Israel is increasingly going public with its strikes on Syria. Retaliatory attacks carried out last week were conducted in broad daylight, and in contrast to prior strikes, the IDF immediately took responsibility for them and announced them in real time on twitter.
Turkey’s “Middle Corridor” (MC) and China’s “Belt Road initiative” (BRI) are two grand schemes that envisage trans-continental integration. These two ambitious initiatives have been developed independently of one another. However, are they compatible?
Donor-backed reform efforts in the Lebanese Internal Security Forces have shown good results in a jurisdiction in Beirut. While imperfect and limited in scope, these results are encouraging, as obstacles to the provision of fair and effective policing in Lebanon are myriad.
In recent months fighting has repeatedly broken out between Syrian and Iranian-backed militias around Deir ez-Zor, initially over control of taxes and smuggling routes, but increasingly the conflict has taken on a strategic dimension as well.
The launch of King Salman Energy Park, a new megaproject intended to reinforce Saudi Arabia’s position as a global energy hub, reflects a more cautious approach to economic development in the kingdom and foreshadows a less ambitious economic agenda in 2019.
As the conflict in Syria concludes, the next phase will center on rebuilding and will require hundreds of billions of dollars in investment. For now though, sanctions imposed by the U.S., U.K., and EU block money from flowing in.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts discuss recent and upcoming events including Russian air strikes in Aleppo, the elections in Bahrain, the growing international interest in Egypt’s offshore energy finds, and the appointment of a new Afghan team of negotiators for peace talks.
The Egyptian/Qatari initiative has afforded breathing room for Gaza, while Hamas and Prime Minister Netanyahu have demonstrated a determination to avoid war, for now.
The reopening of the Naseeb-Jaber border crossing offers an opportunity to address the pressing political, economic, and humanitarian challenges confronting Jordan.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts discuss recent and upcoming events including the Iraq-Kurdistan pipeline deal, how the YPG partnership affects US-Turkey ties, and the new Russia-Turkey gas pipeline.
Negotiations shepherded by Egypt appear to be making progress in establishing a new, more stable chapter in the ongoing conflict, but instability remains at the heart of the Gaza standoff.
The American decision to reimpose sanctions may result in a new wave of tensions between the U.S. and EU as European companies have benefited significantly from growing trade with Iran.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts discuss recent and upcoming events including the Gaza flare-up and its threat to Egyptian-led negotiations, Russian-hosted Afghan peace talks, the ground offensive in Hodeidah, and rapid escalation in northwestern Syria.
As naval, air, and ground units from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE conduct war games in western Egypt this month, many speculate that this could represent the birth of the so-called “Arab NATO.”