By Dilosoz Youssef HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – After a rainy night, 70-year-old Khalil al-Faraj finished packing his belongings in al-Arisha IDP camp, located in the southern countryside of Hasakah, northeastern Syria, preparing to return to his hometown in Deir ez-Zor, eastern the country, after eight years of displacement. On Feb. 11, hundreds of families departed…
THE WASHINGTON TIMES — 1/27/2025 Dr. David L. Phillips The Syrian Democratic Council plays a pivotal role in Syria’s transition and future constitution. It rejects independence for Rojava, the Kurdish region in northeast Syria, in lieu of power-sharing between Damascus and Syria’s regions. The SDC does not seek a “zero-sum gain,” where its gains come at the expense of others. After 50 years of conflict and hardship, the SDC wants…
by David L. Phillips, opinion contributor – 12/26/24 11:00 AM ET The U.S. and Turkey risk a confrontation if Turkey or its jihadist proxies attack the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), America’s ally fighting ISIS. Defeating ISIS is still a work in progress; the Kurds are guarding thousands of ISIS prisoners in northeast Syria. If they redeploy to…
By David L. Phillips Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan and Fethullah Gulen, the Muslim cleric who died last week, were political allies and business partners. They engineered an Islamist take-over of the civil service and police until a disagreement in 2013 dividing the spoils. When Gulen’s allies in the judiciary launched an investigation into Erdogan’s dealings,…
By VEYSI DAG OCTOBER 21, 2024 04:32 The Middle East has experienced a significant upheaval since the ratification of the Abraham Accords in September 2020, which marked a paradigm shift in the Arab-Israel conflict – ongoing since the end of World War II – paving the way for a new era of harmonious relations between Israel…
The Syrian regime forces committed a new massacre in the villages of Jadeed Bakara and al-Dahalah after shelling the villages with rockets and artillery, where the number of martyrs reached 11 martyrs, most of them children and women. At 02:30 on Friday, the regime forces began shelling the two villages with rockets from their bases…
By Mohammed A. Salih BOTTOM LINE Amid escalating regional tensions since October 7 last year and reports of American contemplations of troop withdrawal from Syria, the US administration should reassess its Syria policy, and consider a long-term, minimalist presence coupled with robust political and diplomatic efforts in the interest of regional security and peace. The ongoing Middle…
Penny Papadopoulou This winter was dark and cruel in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) and summer promises to be just as bleak. As it approaches, the Kurds fear that the sacrifices they made in the fight against ISIS are being forgotten. Washington’s dramatic shift in priorities and lack of strategic direction…
JAMES F. JEFFREY MARCH 8, 2024 The Middle East has long been defined by complex conflicts, yet pride of place is likely Syria since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011. U.S. forces, operating there since 2014, officially against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), are involved in one of the…
Feb 8, 2024 By Ihsan Muhammad DARAA, Syria (North Press) – Experts and researchers believe that the Islamic State (ISIS) is seeking to reorganize its ranks in southern Syria, taking advantage of the security chaos in the region. Furthermore, ISIS no longer finds a safe place in northeastern Syria. It has been five years since ISIS…
