Aftershocks Continue in Türkiye-Syria as Aid Deliveries Continue
As Türkiye was still recovering from the earthquakes in the beginning of February, a new, magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck eastern Türkiye on February 27.
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Syria
A Natural Disaster vs. Man-Made Building
One of the deadliest earthquakes of the decade, the disaster has civil defense members and rescue teams working hard to compensate for the lack of infrastructure and equipment necessary to handle the quake’s aftermath.
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Israeli Airstrike in Damascus Kills Five
On Sunday, February 19, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) conducted an airstrike against Damascus, the capital of Syria, leaving at least five people dead, 15 wounded, and damage to residential buildings, according to Al Jazeera.
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FOCUS on Pariah Leaders: Bashar al-Assad
In early October, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received a phone call from King Abdullah II of Jordan, their first since Abdullah called for Assad to step down in 2011 during the Arab Spring, according to Al Jazeera. Jordan is not alone in normalizing relations with their estranged Arab neighbor—Egypt and the UAE have both contacted the Syrian government. Jordan and the UAE have come to agreements to improve economic ties and resume trade with Syria, despite U.S. sanctions.
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Turkey-U.S. Relations Deteriorating as Turkey Seeks Russian Alliance
On September 24, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey will consider buying a second S-400 missile system from Russia, drawing international scrutiny. This announcement concerned United States defense officials, particularly following the events of 2020, in which Turkey was kicked out of NATO’s F-35 program for similar actions, reports ABC News.
Read moreDenmark Revokes Residency of Syrian Refugees
Denmark has recently come under international criticism for its decision to revoke Syrian refugees’ residency permits. It is the first European country to do so. This is especially surprising given that Denmark was the first country to sign the United Nations Refugee Convention in 1952, according to VICE.
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FOCUS on Separatist Movements: Kurdistan
Among global separatist movements, the Kurds stand as the largest nation without an independent state and make up the fourth-largest ethnic group in the Middle East, according to BBC News. There is an estimated population of 30 million Kurds scattered across the mountainous regions within the borders of Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The Kurds often say that they have “no friends but the mountains.” The Economist also reports that “internal division has been one of their worst enemies.”
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The Biden Administration Must Make Amends for Trump’s Middle East Policy
As the first half of President Joe Biden’s 100 days passes by, many are now beginning to analyze the trajectory of his term. The most recent airstrikes in Syria on February 25, 2021 against Iranian backed militias, have seemingly set the tone for his Middle Eastern policy. Many Americans and foreign policy analysts now wonder where the Biden Administration will go moving forward.
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President Biden Orders Airstrikes in Syria
The U.S. resumed its counterterrorism efforts under President Joe Biden, who ordered a targeted airstrike in Syria against Iranian-backed militia groups on February 25. CNBC reports that the controversial action was solely directed by the President without conferring with Congress While congressional leadership was briefed by the Pentagon a day before the airstrikes were launched, they did not pass an authorization for the use of force in Syria.
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The Arab Spring One Decade Later
In 2020, 26 journalists were imprisoned by the Egyptian government, the Committee to Protect Journalists reports. This past November, a prominent women’s rights activist was executed in broad-daylight in Benghazi, Libya, one of many targeted that year, Human Rights Watch adds. Just this month, a protestor was killed after Tunisian police, who were cracking down on protesters demanding social justice, fired tear gas.
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