The Briefing – April 2018
April 2018Syria again took centre-stage in the Middle East after a suspected chemical attack threatened to spark a wider international confrontation. On 7 April, a suspected chemical attack on Douma, the last rebel-held area in Eastern Ghouta, triggered the latest crisis in the conflict in Syria. After an intensified bombing campaign by Syrian and Russian forces, rebel groups had already […]
THE BRIEFING – MARCH 2018
March 2018Spring is around the corner! On 21 March many Middle Eastern communities will mark the Norouz new year festival, an ancient day shared by many as the start of the Spring and a time of hope and renewal. Yet the region feels further from renewal than it was even a year ago. By the end of last year, we thought […]
The Briefing – February 2018
February 2018New complications in the region’s conflicts are threatening to divide powerful allies. At the end of last year, there was an emerging view that the Syrian war had reached its peak and was starting to de-escalate. The last few weeks, however, have pointed in the opposite direction, with some of the fiercest aerial bombing campaigns by forces loyal to Assad […]
The Briefing – January 2018
January 2018While 2017 saw military power finally overwhelm the territorial ambitions of so-called Islamic State, the lasting effects of conflict, continuing struggles between regional powers, and increasingly forceful policies being pursued by some mean that this is set to be another challenging year for the region. Iran made headlines at the turn of the year in a way that no-one had […]
The Briefing – December 2017
December 2017A US announcement this month brought a decades-long conflict to the fore, even as peace appeared on the horizon in Iraq with victory over Islamic State. Meanwhile, hopeful signs of religious tolerance emerged elsewhere in the region. The status of Jerusalem became a focus of anger this month. Since a 1995 vote by Congress, four US presidents have promised to […]
The Briefing – November 2017
November 2017Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon: Why a month is a long time in the Middle East Massive political shifts and out-of-the-blue developments have made this month a remarkable one even by the normally volatile standards of the Middle East. The aftershocks of the Kurdish independence referendum in Iraq continued, as a strengthened central Iraqi government in Baghdad relentlessly pushed forward, […]
The Briefing – October 2017
October 2017A controversial referendum for Kurdish independence in Northern Iraq dominated the region’s headlines and triggered the rapid deployment of Iraqi forces to Kirkuk. As expected, on 25 September Kurds in Northern Iraq held a referendum for independence from Iraq. Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Kurds have enjoyed a de-facto regional governance and since then have aspired to create an […]
The Briefing – September 2017
September 2017The deep conflicts and crises of the region continue, even as the region is poised for an historic new development in northern Iraq. In Syria, so-called Islamic State (IS) continued to relinquish control of more of its territory, including parts of its self-declared capital of Raqqa. IS forces in Deir El-Zour are now under severe pressure from two sides, from […]