Regional Overview – Middle East 9 July 2018
Demonstrations dominated the events reported last week in several countries across the region including in Bahrain, Iran, and Turkey. In Syria, intense activity was reported in Dar’a governorate last week as the government and its allies continued their offensive against rebel and Islamist factions, while parallel offensives in Idleb and northern Hama governorates also continued.…
Turkey – 2016 Data Release
In Turkey, the beginning of 2016 was marked by escalating violence in the southeast as part of the renewed Kurdish/Turkish conflict following the 20 July 2015 Islamic State (IS) attack on the Kurdish city of Suruç.…
Regional Overview – Middle East 02 July 2018
A concentration of political violence was reported last week in Syria and Yemen with proportional rises in events in both southern Syria and Hudayda governorate in Yemen, respectively. Meanwhile, a rise in particular event types has been recorded in other countries in the region, including a rise in reports of kidnappings by Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq last week.…
Regional Overview – Middle East 25 June 2018
Notable trends, including offensives, continued in several countries, including Israel, Palestine, Syria and Yemen. Meanwhile, counter-insurgency operations by Turkish forces were stepped up both inside and outside of the country. Rocket fire and airstrikes continued to be exchanged between Palestinian militants and Israeli military this past week, with these activities making up the majority of events in Israel and Palestine over the period.…
Turkey Targets Refugees at its Borders
Since the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, Turkey has been the main hub for hosting Syrian refugees. It is estimated that about 3.5 million refugees are based in Turkey; this amounts to approximately 15% of the total pre-war population of Syria.…
Regional Overview – Middle East 18 June 2018
Unrest continued in Palestine and Israel last week, with both Israeli settlers and Palestinians clashing with police, while Israeli airstrikes on Gaza changed their focus to targeting groups flying incendiary kites over the border.…
Regional Overview – Middle East 11 June 2018
Nationwide anti-austerity demonstrations ended in Jordan last week following the withdrawal of a controversial tax bill. In Palestine, on the other hand, riots continued in both Gaza and the West Bank, as did Israeli airstrikes against Hamas.…
Collaboration between YPG and Regime Forces
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.…