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Latest Articles about Middle East
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Ukraine’s Arms to Syria Set to Grow, While Ukrainian Nationals Are Targeted by Anti-Assad Forces
A meeting in Morocco on December 12 by The Friends of Syria representing 100 countries recognized the opposition National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Force as the sole representative of the Syrian people. The step opens the way for increased humanitarian and military assistance... MORE
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Jihadists Exploit Syrian Turmoil as the Islamic State of Iraq Makes a Comeback
Iraq’s armed Islamist front is beginning to see favorable results from a new phase in the movement’s struggle that began in the summer. The plan, entitled “Demolishing the Walls,” was announced in a July 21 audio message by Abu Bakr al-Qurayshi al-Baghdadi, the Amir of... MORE
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The Strategic Repercussions and Limitations of Iranian-Egyptian Rapprochement
The November 21 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been credited primarily to President Muhammad Mursi of Egypt, who, with the encouragement of the White House, brokered a peace deal between the two sides to halt eight days of military conflict (al-Jazeera, November 20; al-Arabiya,... MORE
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Hot Issue: New Arab-Kurdish Front Could Strengthen Assad
Summary Clashes between Kurdish militias and armed Syrian opposition groups in Aleppo starting at the end of October in Ras al-Ayn near the Turkish border have raised the specter of a possible Arab-Kurdish civil war in Syria. An Arab-Kurdish civil war would weaken the efforts... MORE
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Chechens Are Among Foreigners Fighting to Overthrow Bashar al-Assad
The world press recently began to discuss the fact that some Chechens are involved in the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (see EDM, August 3). The number Chechens fighting in the Syria seems inconsequential. The involvement of Chechens, however, indicates that the Syrian conflict... MORE
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China Claims Uyghur Militants Are Seeking a Syrian Battlefield
Chinese security officials informed reporters in late October that members of the East Turkistan Islamic Party (ETIM, a name used frequently by Chinese officials to refer to the Turkistan Islamic Party - TIP) and the East Turkistan Educational and Solidarity Association (ETESA) had slipped into... MORE
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Jihad in Syria: A Profile of Jabhat al-Nusra
The jihadists that began to emerge in Syria several months after peaceful protests against the Bashar al-Assad regime began in March 2011 can be broadly categorized into two groups: al-Qaeda-style groups and local jihadist groups. The latter type is represented by locally-formed jihadist groups, the... MORE
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A Profile of Syrian Rebel Cleric Shaykh Ahmad Mouaz al-Khatib
The National Coalition of the Syrian Revolutionary Forces and the Opposition elected Shaykh Ahmad Mouaz al-Khatib al-Husni, a little known moderate cleric (imam), on November 11 to be their chief (al-Arab Online, November 12). While Khatib has asserted himself as a determined opposition leader, he has historically... MORE
An In-Depth Portrait of Murat Karayilan: Field Commander of the PKK
Murat Karayilan joined the separatist terrorist organization the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan—PKK) in the late 1970s. Right before the military coup that took place in September 1980 in Turkey, Karayilan was among the PKK militants that fled to Syria, where Hafez al-Assad’s regime... MORE
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Russian Circassians Protest Deteriorating Security Situation in Syria
On November 17, the Russian Congress of the Peoples of the North Caucasus held a series of protests in Moscow demanding the facilitation of the repatriation of the Syrian Circassians to the North Caucasus. It is noteworthy that even organizations loyal to Moscow, such as... MORE