Latest Articles and Blog Posts

The Qamishli Front

December 10, 2013  •  Brown Moses

The northeastern corner of Syria- with the city of Qamishli and its surrounding area- has attracted some media attention as a scene of what is known as the wider "Kurdish-Jihadi" conflict that erupted since the expulsion of jihadis from the Hasakah northern border town of Ras al-Ayn by the YPG in July. So which factions are fighting on the Qamishli front on both sides?

Rebel Offensive

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More On The Druze Militias in Southern Syria

November 15, 2013  •  Syria Comment

In light of responses to my previous piece on Druze militias in southern Syria, here are some further thoughts:

1. Druze in opposition: The initial article drew conclusions that the majority of Druze in Syria who have taken up arms do so on the side of the Assad regime and that there is no evidence of a separatist trend even among Druze militias that might be deemed autonomous. In objection to my conclusions it has been claimed that I intentionally overlooked Druze who are on the side of the opposition, whether political or armed.

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The Druze Militias of Southern Syria

November 13, 2013  •  Syria Comment

Introduction

Compared to how much has been written on the Sunni-Alawite dynamics in the Syrian civil war, little analysis exists on the Druze aspect of the conflict. This study hopes to rectify the deficiency by considering the nature of Druze militias operating in the south of Syria, specifically in Suwayda, Deraa and Damascus governorates where Druze populations are concentrated.

The Principle of Self-Defense

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GUEST POST: Where Syria could be heading

November 12, 2013 at 5:15 pm

It's the general assumption in MENA that it's only the US and some of it's western allies that seem to have latched on to the idea of a negotiated settlement with Assad i.e him staying and effectively killing off the armed uprising.

It's not entirely true.

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The Fall of Yaroubiya to the YPG In Context

November 5, 2013  •  Brown Moses

Introduction: Solidifying Stalemate

The small town of Yaroubiya in north-east Syria (Hasakah governorate) on the border with Iraq recently came to media attention in light of the takeover of the locality by the YPG- a Kurdish militia affiliated with the Democratic Union Party (PYD). This resulted in the expulsion of the al-Qa'ida affiliate Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS), among other fighters

To be sure, in the grand scheme of things in the conflict between the YPG and rival rebel factions, the takeover of Yaroubiya does not represent a decisive turning point but a further step towards the most likely overall outcome: namely, consolidation of existing positions.

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