Tag Archives: in depth

THE LEVANT – With soldiers firing warning shots to herald the nightly curfew and jihadist militants beheading informants, Sinai’s residents find themselves caught in the middle of Egypt’s “war on terror”. The Sinai Peninsula has become a hotbed of Islamist militancy after decades of neglect under former president Hosni Mubarak, …

THE LEVANT EXCLUSIVE – By Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi – The international coalition- led by the U.S.- against the Islamic State [IS], with additional American airstrikes targeting the ‘Khorasan’ al-Qa’ida group in Syria (in reality just al-Qa’ida veterans from the Afghanistan-Pakistan embedded with Syria’s al-Qa’ida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra [JN])- has prompted media speculation …

THE LEVANT – Syrian businessmen start from scratch after their shops and factories were destroyed. Families who lost their homes struggle to rent new dwellings and make ends meet. Along highways stretching through government-controlled areas are the bombed ruins of once-rebellious towns, now dotted with checkpoints. Government-controlled Syria is truncated …

THE LEVANT – By Alexey Sarabyev  – In Lebanon, fighting continues in Tripoli. Currently all indications are that this is just another instance of restoring order to the chaotic city, a battle with insurgents and terrorists. As always, the Lebanese army and militants are in opposition, and the population itself of …

THE LEVANT – Libya’s remote desert south has become a haven for North African jihadists who have set up training camps in what has traditionally been a hotbed of arms smuggling, experts say. Oil-rich Libya slid into chaos after veteran dictator Moamer Kadhafi was toppled and killed in a NATO-backed …

THE LEVANT – Thousands of southern Yemenis turned out in Aden Friday to demand independence for their once sovereign region, as Houthi rebels from the north press to expand their control over more of the impoverished country. The demonstrators gathered in Aden’s Parade Square to mark a “Day of Anger” …

THE LEVANT – Four former Blackwater security guards were found guilty Wednesday for their roles in a notorious 2007 mass shooting in Baghdad that left at least 14 civilians dead and deepened resentment of America’s involvement in Iraq. The four ex-employees of the US private security firm were convicted on …

THE LEVANT EXCLUSIVE –  Exclusive from Kiev, By Julia Lugovska – Situation in Eastern Ukrainian Donbas region still remains extremely tense, with the continuous shelling of the position of Ukrainian military and of the cities and local villages by the pro-Russian terrorists and Russian troops. Despite the recent talks held in …

THE LEVANT – By Afro-Middle East Centre – The striking advances of Houthis in Yemen, having already taken de facto control of the capital Sana’a last month, has implications for Yemen as well as for the greater Middle East. Within Yemen, they signal the return to political prominence of the Zaidi-Shia, …

THE LEVANT – By Afro-Middle East Centre – Air strikesaimed at the Libya Dawn militia in recentmonths could further escalate and regionalise the conflict in Libya. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is widely reported as having launched the air strikes, but the bombings seem to be part of increasing intervention in Libya …

THE LEVANT – Turkey on Monday dropped its refusal to allow Kurdish fighters over the border to defend the besieged Syrian town of Kobane, saying it was now helping Iraqi peshmerga to cross the frontier in a major policy shift. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey had no desire so …

THE LEVANT  – By Charles Recknagel –  From the use of suicide car bombs against enemy front lines to slaughtering prisoners of war to frighten opponents, Islamic State militants have proven brutally effective on the battlefield. Here are five things that make the group a formidable force. Suicide Bombers Many …

THE LEVANT – By Alessandro Bruno – President Obama’s plan to destroy Islamic State (IS, former ISIS) is ineffective at best. Rather, NATO allies should aim towards forcing the terrorist organization that is destabilizing the territories of Iraq and Syria to implode from within. Beyond the White House’s valid intentions, …

THE LEVANT – By Hamid Reza Kamali – Iran and Saudi Arabia are two important countries in a region, which plays a pivotal role in historical changes and developments. Iran has a history which dates back to thousands of years ago and is the remaining part of ancient empires whose …

THE LEVANT  – By Aaron Heller – It used to be that if you wanted to join one of the world’s most secretive espionage organizations you had to sneak into a foreign embassy, answer a cryptic newspaper ad or show up in a nondescript building in Tel Aviv to meet …

THE LEVANT –  By Ammar Karim – As Iraqi forces struggle to pin back the Islamic State group on the ground, Baghdad is taking its war against the jihadists to the airwaves with a television comedy series. As Iraqi forces struggle to pin back the Islamic State group on the …

THE LEVANT – As they gather in Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca for the annual hajj, some pilgrims have denounced atrocities by Islamic State group jihadists as “a virus” threatening the world. But many also expressed concerns about the US-led air war against them. “Islam is innocent from actions …

THE LEVANT – A Jordanian court acquitted radical cleric Abu Qatada of terrorism charges and immediately freed him on Wednesday, ending more than a decade of legal cases against the firebrand preacher. Abu Qatada, who was deported from Britain last year, was found not guilty of conspiring to attack tourists …