Since the beginning of 2017, Turkish military forces have been responsible for the vast majority of the remote violence reported in the Iraqi governorates bordering Turkey. This is largely due to their ongoing conflict with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which maintains bases in northern Iraq (Iraqi News, December 25, 2017). These remote violence events…
The number of political violence events recorded in Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, and Palestine dropped this week, while the number of events in Bahrain and Turkey rose considerably. Meanwhile Syria is seeing a renewed focus by various forces on fighting the Islamic State, while fighting remains roughly static in Yemen. In Iraq, a discernible lull in…
In this series of infographics, ACLED’s Research Analyst, Melissa Pavlik, explores 5 hidden or under-reported conflicts across the Middle East. The fifth explores spillover conflicts (2017-present).
Event numbers across the Middle East were largely static last week, while only a few new trends were recorded in Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, and Yemen. In Iraq, event levels dropped slightly last week despite the upcoming elections planned for May 12. There were, however, several clashes reported between Kurdish rebels and Turkish military forces…
This week was characterized by relatively static levels of political violence and protests in most countries in the Middle East, including in Gaza where Great Return March demonstrations were again held this past Friday. Meanwhile, Syria saw an end to fighting in Eastern Ghouta as well as a highly-publicized international response by America, British, and…
Over the last two weeks a number of disparate trends have appeared in countries across the region, including in Iran, Iraq, Israel, and Palestine in particular, while pro-government forces in Syria and Yemen continued to make gains in their respective conflicts. In Iran, at least a dozen of demonstrations have been reported over the past…
Trends in political violence and demonstrations stayed largely static this week, outside of some interesting activity in Bahrain, Iraq, and Turkey. Syria and Yemen also saw continuations of existing trends, with Syria in particular seeing ongoing offensives by government and Turkish forces respectively coming close to completion. Israel and Lebanon had a relatively low number…
Since the end of the Hawija offensive in early October 2017, during which the Islamic State ousted from the last major urban centre in Iraq, events of political violence and reported fatalities in the country have seen a steady decline. This trend began with a relatively dramatic decline in the number of events between October…
Last week, new dynamics in political violence involving the Islamic State (IS) were reported in Iraq and Yemen, while notable events of political violence or protest dynamics were also recorded in Israel, Iran, and Palestine. In Syria, government and Turkish forces continue to advance in the Eastern Ghouta and Afrin areas respectively, while advances by…
A number of novel protest dynamics were reported in countries across the Middle East last week, while offensives in Syria and Yemen continue to result in advances for government and regional forces in different areas. In Iran, security forces clashed with farmers from the eastern villages of Isfahan province protesting the government’s perceived failure to…