Syria Conflict

Idlib exposes Erdogan's untenable policies

Turkey’s predicament in Idlib has laid bare its weaknesses and the longstanding inconsistencies in its foreign and security policy as never before, boding adverse repercussions for the government, both at home and abroad.

Syria

Damascus brushes off Ankara's threats as Assad's forces make gains in Aleppo

Syrian forces have expelled opposition factions 12 miles from the vicinity of the city of Aleppo, opening the highway between Aleppo and Damascus at a time when Ankara is stepping up its rhetoric and threatening to launch a military attack.

Syria

Will Manbij fighters heed the call to return home?

The Manbij Military Council has called on rebel fighters from Manbij to desert their militias and return to their cities and villages.

Syria

SDF avoids fight with Trump over budget cut

The Trump administration's proposed 2021 budget would diminish the SDF's ability to effectively fight IS, but the coalition is unlikely to protest the steep cuts out of fear of angering Trump.

Syria

Intel: What's behind Erdogan's latest threat of imminent attack in Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the parliament yesterday that an operation against Syrian government forces in the rebel-held province of Idlib was “a matter of moments” after talks between Turkish officials and their Russian counterparts in Moscow failed to deliver “the desired result.”

Syria

Syrian crossings reopen, freeing up flow of people, goods

The closed crossings that have separated Turkish-affiliated forces in Syria from those of the Kurds have reopened, allowing for trade and travel in those areas for the first time in months.

Syria

Why is Turkish Cypriot leader declared ‘enemy’ in Turkey?

The leader of the Cypriot Turks angered Ankara in October for criticizing the Turkish incursion into Syria, but all hell has broken loose since he recently said that any move by Turkey to annex Northern Cyprus would be a “horrible” prospect.

Turkey

Syrian army makes gains in Idlib, opposition blames Turkey

Syrian opposition groups wonder what value the Turkish observation posts and the Turkish army have in Idlib, as the Syrian regime forces make great advances in the area.

Syria

Is Turkey planning to curb radicals in Idlib under strategy shift?

In a scenario that invokes its Afrin operation in 2018, Ankara speaks of reining in radical groups and asserting field control in Idlib, hoping that Moscow will give it a nod to avoid war.

Syria

Turkey grows erratic as clashes in Idlib escalate

The Turkish government seems increasingly irrational as clashes intensify between Syrian government forces and Turkey-backed rebels in Idlib.

Syria

Displaced yet again, Syrians flee Idlib for Manbij

With intense shelling and catastrophic conditions in Idlib province, the Syrian Democratic Forces are welcoming refugees into areas they control to the east around Manbij.

Syria

Raqqa seeks to repair what IS ruined

The Religious Affairs Foundation in Raqqa held its first Islamic forum as part of efforts to correct the religious concepts that the Islamic State misinterpreted and practiced, in an attempt to bridge the gap that IS created among the Syrian communities.

Syria