On May 10, 2018, Iran fired a barrage of missiles at the Golan Heights (10 May 2018, NYTimes). This occurred shortly after US President Trump pulled out of the Iranian nuclear agreement. Israel responded by attacking Iranian military sites in Syria at unprecedented scale, marking an escalation in Israel’s engagement in Syria and its conflict…
Details
The Great Return March demonstrations (see here for more on this topic) officially began on 30 March 2018 (Land Day) and ended on 15 May 2018 (Nakba Day). These events were meant to reaffirm the right of return of Palestinians in the face of the US decision to move their embassy to Jerusalem, which is…
Details
On April 16 of last year, the people of Turkey voted in favor of a constitutional referendum approving a series of amendments which significantly expanded the powers of the presidency, held by Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The referendum resulted in an extremely narrow victory at 51% for and 49% against,…
Details
Since May 1, domestic Indonesian Islamist groups that pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) launched several attacks — the first violent acts perpetrated by an IS-affiliated group since the January 2016 attacks in central Jakarta. With Indonesia’s IS supporters no longer traveling to the Middle East since the decline of IS activity in Syria…
Details
The ruling Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) secured a comfortable victory in the 2018 West Bengal panchayat (village government) elections on May 14 in India. However, political violence and inadequate security arrangements during the election nomination and polling phases prevented opposition parties and citizens from fulfilling their democratic right to participate in free elections. The different…
Details
Since the killing of the President of the Supreme Political Council in a Saudi-led coalition airstrike, anti-Houthi militias backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have managed to wrest much of southern Hodeidah governorate from Houthi control, setting the stage for a full-out assault on the port city and sparking fears of increased suffering by…
Details
Significant demonstrations were reported across a number of Middle Eastern countries last week, including in Iraq following its elections; in Palestine, especially in Gaza, over the US embassy move to Jerusalem; in Israel, Jordan, and Turkey, in response to the recent use of force against demonstrators in Gaza; and in Iran, where economic issues continue…
Details
Major instances of political violence were reported from several South and Southeast Asian countries, especially in Indonesia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. In Indonesia, Islamist groups associated with Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) carried out a series of bombings and other violent attacks on several Christian churches and a Brimob (Mobile Brigade Corps) police station. These attacks resulted…
Details
Key developments on the African continent during the week of May 13th included prolonged incidents of political violence in Libya, Cameroon and CAR; cross-border operations from the DRC; and a number of protests and riots by students and among political party supporters. In Libya, battles intensified in Darnah district between the Libyan armed forces and…
Details
Chemical incidents have perhaps been the only consistent factor shaping the United States’ position on the civil war in Syria before and after Trump’s election. A chemical attack on Eastern Ghouta in August 2013 prompted an imminent attack, led by the Obama administration. This was staved off by the Assad regime in an exchange for…
Details