In The News

“Dear World … Why Are You Silent?”: Aleppo Residents Make Social Plea for Help

Tu Thanh Ha December 15, 2016
Ordinary people describe the dangers, fear and long waits in Aleppo’s warzone over social media. Arranging ceasefires and agreements is a challenge because of multiple factions on either side. Buses ready to deliver civilians to safety were blocked by pro-government forces. “Citing rebel and United Nations sources, the Reuters news agency said the ceasefire unravelled after Iran, one of Syrian...

Blame Game Starts as Aleppo's Rebels Fall

Jeremy Bowen December 14, 2016
Civilians and rebel fighters are trapped in a small section of eastern Aleppo, after that part of the city was pounded for months by Russian airstrikes, Syrian ground forces and Iranian militias. The war began in 2011. Europe, the United States, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and a few other nations selectively supported rebel fighters. Russia then intervened in September 2015. Reports describe hospitals...

Fall of Eastern Aleppo Marks Turning Point for Syrian Civil War

Dilip Hiro December 13, 2016
Defeat is imminent for the Syrian rebels in eastern Aleppo as government forces, supported by Russian airstrikes and Iranian militias, take control. The UN Security Council had been advised by a UN envoy that the city, once Syria’s largest, was at risk of becoming a “giant graveyard.” Rebels and civilians are trapped, and eastern Aleppo lacks food, water and other basic services. “Civil wars are...

Syrian Rebels in Secret Talks With Moscow to End Aleppo Fighting

Erika Solomon and Geoff Dyer December 2, 2016
The Financial Times reports that Turkey has arranged secret talks between Syrian rebels and Russia to stop the fighting in Aleppo. The rebel-held portion of Aleppo is surrounded, and occupants are desperate for food, water and other supplies. The US, which has “provided limited training and weaponry for the rebels but had been hesitant to give forceful backing,” was not included in the talks, the...

Divisions Within Afghanistan’s Government Reach New Crisis Point

Pamela Constable December 1, 2016
Impeachment of seven Afghan cabinet ministers demonstrates the fragility of Afghanistan’s new democratic institutions. President Ashraf Ghani confronts public criticism, and lawmakers accuse each other of abusing power and accomplishing little. Afghanistan’s ethnic divisions complicate the debate over governance. This instability follows more than a decade of US involvement in the country, and 10...

UN: Aleppo Risks Becoming Giant Graveyard

December 1, 2016
Rebel forces and civilians in Aleppo are surrounded and under siege from Syrian government troops, Russian airstrikes and Iranian-backed militias. Aleppo, once Syria’s largest city, is now at risk to become a “giant graveyard,” UN envoy Stephen O’Brien advised the UN Security Council during an emergency meeting. The civil war began with protests, associated with the Arab Spring, followed by a...

Erdogan to Release Migrants if EU Blocks Membership Talks

Caroline Mortimer November 30, 2016
Members of the European Parliament voted for a temporary pause in negotiations on Turkey’s efforts to join the European Union due to worries about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's heavy-handed response to July’s coup. Specific concerns include treatment of political dissidents and potential restoration of the death penalty, which is banned by the EU. “The talks were part of a wide-ranging...