Recent reports of an increase in Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria’s civil war as combatants alongside the Syrian military represent a potentially sharp escalation in the regional impact of the ongoing conflict. Accusations concerning Hezbollah’s military support for the Assad government leveled by the party’s Lebanese... MORE

As Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria shows further signs of weakening, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood has begun maneuvering to take advantage of the regime’s expected collapse. In light of this, it is important to look at the Syrian Brotherhood’s leading political strategist, UK-based Zuheir Salim... MORE

Kurdish militias recently took control of several towns in northern Syria, raising fears in Turkey that in addition to their camps in the mountainous border areas in Iraq, the Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan (PKK) could also now operate against Turkey from Syria.  It is however, unlikely,... MORE

On August 1, Circassian activists marked the Day of the Repatriated Person in the North Caucasus. This year, the celebrations were strongly influenced by the Syrian crisis, turning into an event of solidarity with the Syrian Circassians. On the same day, several Circassian organizations jointly... MORE

An Agence France Press (AFP) journalist covering the armed Syrian opposition made a statement about the presence of Chechen militants in Syria that alarmed the Russian public. Referring to the French journalist, the Euronews news agency alleged there were militant groups affiliated with al-Qaeda among... MORE

On July 18, Circassians activists from several countries, including Russia’s North Caucasus, called on the Circassian and Caucasian organizations to focus on helping the Syrian Circassians. The Circassians in the North Caucasus celebrate August 1 as Repatriate’s Day, and the celebrations this year are bound... MORE

In this “Special Report on The Syrian Uprising: A Focus on Parties and Leadership” we examine the roles of key religious, military, and political actors in the Syrian uprising. This 2012 Quarterly Special Report features five brand-new articles commissioned by The Jamestown Foundation and one... MORE

The Syrian conflict is emerging as an extremely attractive recruiting ground for jihadi groups - in February, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the emir of al-Qaida, called upon “every Muslim and every honorable and free person in Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon to go to aid his brothers... MORE

On July 9, speaking to Russian reporters at an air show near London, Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, a deputy director of Russia’s Federal Military-Technical Cooperation Service (FSVTS), which supervises the arms trade, announced that Moscow will not be signing new arms trade contracts with Syria or “sending... MORE

IS RUSSIA SENDING A DETACHMENT OF THE BLACK SEA FLEET TO SYRIA? Despite a recent flurry of contradictory reports, it appears that a detachment composed of ships from the Russian Black Sea Fleet and possibly the Baltic Fleet is preparing for deployment to the Russian... MORE