Is Ahrar al Sham Still Fighting the Regime?

Analysis, Civilians At Risk, Conflict Monitoring, Focus On Militias, Governance, Islamic State, Islamist Violence, Middle East, Political Stability, Pro-Government Militias, Unidentified Armed Groups, Vigilante Militias
Ahrar al Sham (AAS) has been a major player in the Syrian conflict since the group was formed in December 2011. Bringing together a number of Syrian Islamist groups to fight under a single structure, AAS’ primary stated objective was to bring an end to the Assad regime and see the establishment of a Sunni Islamist state in Syria (Stanford, 2017).[1]…

Collaboration between YPG and Regime Forces

Analysis, Civilians At Risk, Conflict Monitoring, Focus On Militias, Governance, Islamic State, Islamist Violence, Middle East, Political Stability, Pro-Government Militias, Violence Against Civilians
In early 2018, the YPG publicly requested the support of the Syrian regime to obstruct the Turkish expansion in northern Syria (Reuters, 2018). The call for support fuelled a longer-standing suspicion among analysts about the level of cooperation and collaboration between the Syrian regime and the YPG.…

One Year of Battles in the Yemeni Civil War

Analysis, Civilians At Risk, Conflict Monitoring, Ethnic Militias, Focus On Militias, Governance, Middle East, Political Stability, Pro-Government Militias, Violence Against Civilians
Despite the sense of widespread disorder conveyed by the dominant narrative on Yemen, the frontlines of the war pitting forces of the (former) Houthi-Saleh alliance against those loyal to the internationally-recognised government have largely remained static over the past year.…

Eastern Yemen – Hadramawt and Al Mahrah

Governance, Middle East, Political Stability, Remote Violence
Hadramawt and Al Mahrah governorates make up the eastern region of Yemen, which has witnessed less conflict than the rest of the country. Al Mahrah has remained largely peaceful throughout the civil war; ACLED recorded only two violent occurrences in the governorate in early 2018: the assassination of an Omani citizen, and clashes involving Saudi forces and armed smugglers.…

Targeting Civilians in South and Southeast Asia

Asia, Civilians At Risk, Conflict Monitoring, Current Hotspots, Governance, Political Stability, Unidentified Armed Groups, Violence Against Civilians
South and Southeast Asian countries have witnessed 561 violent events targeting civilians in 2015 so far. Over half of these events, 293, cannot be verifiably linked to any specific group. Yet the remaining 268 events can be traced to specific rebel groups and political militias.…