In The News

DW: 5 Million Children in Yemen Face Famine

September 18, 2018
Yemen’s civil war is also a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The country of 27 million people is surrounded by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, the Gulf of Aden to the south and Oman to the east. Hodeida is a key port city on the Red Sea. “Renewed attacks on the Red Sea city by the Saudi-led coalition could temporarily shut down the key port, putting 5.2 million...

Los Angeles Times: Syria Prepares for Final Showdown With Rebels

Nabih Bulos August 29, 2018
The Syrian government is eager to end the civil war that has raged since 2011 and prepares “for a multi-front offensive it hopes will provide a path for finally ending a grinding civil war, the fate of Idlib province and its 3 million residents is now the subject of diplomatic jockeying among the world powers that have had a hand in the war,” reports Nabih Bulos for the Los Angeles Times. After...

Spiegel: Syria's Uncertain Future

Christoph Reuter, Fritz Schaap and Christian Werner August 16, 2018
Syria’s civil war is winding down with Bashar al-Assad still in power. The country is devastated with more than 400,000 people dead and more than 11 million displaced. One estimate of the war’s damages is $250 billion, and the economic losses could be much higher. Assad, a dictator, and his supporters, a minority, regard the rebels who initially tried peaceful protests as terrorists, and the fate...

The Economist: Refugees as Pawn in the Struggle for Syria

August 14, 2018
Syria’s Assad regime seemed destined for collapse at the start of the rebellion that began seven years ago. However, the Syrian leader is on the verge of victory over the rebels that attempted to institute a change in governance. The Economist notes: “the only rebels left are boxed into a corner of Syria’s north-west, in Idlib province. Regime forces are mustering at its edge, having recently...

AP: Children Killed as Airstrikes Hit Bus in Yemen

Ahmed al-Haj August 10, 2018
Rebels in Yemen claim that a Saudi-led airstrike hit a market and schoolbus carrying children on a field trip. More than 50 people were killed and 75 were wounded. Associated Press reports: “U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the coalition air strike and called on all parties to spare civilians and ‘to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, in particular...

Al Jazeera: Russia's Endgame in Syria

Marwan Kabalan July 31, 2018
Analysts can only conjecture what is in store for Syria, Ukraine and other parts of the world where Russia and the United States have an interest. The US and Russian presidents held a private summit and only the translators know what was really said. Syria was discussed. Both countries battled the Islamic State extremists, with Russia and Iran backing the Bashar al Assad regime and the United...

The Guardian: UN Calls for Access to Stranded Syrians

Kareem Shaheen July 25, 2018
The United Nations has requested access to nearly 250,000 stranded Syrians who fled rebel-controlled sectors of Deraa in the midst of an incursion by Syrian military forces. As Kareem Shaheen reports for the Guardian, “government forces are expected to turn to Idlib in the north, where Islamist militias and al-Qaida-linked militants control territory hosting more than two million internally...