Group items tagged

The US and Russia have announced that a cease fire will take place on February 27 at midnight, excluding IS and other terrorist organizations. Because the first cease fire was a failure, there is a lot of skepticism surrounding this second effort. 

A BBC article talking about the US and Russia brokered truce that is supposed to start this weekend. The article also includes a fantastic map created by the BBC to show the zones of control and where various airstrikes have been taking place. While this doesn't have anything to do with the arms involved in Syrian conflict I think this is too significant to ignore this week and therefore I have dedicated my tags to it.

BBC discusses the effect of IS and the current political state of Libya.

A more recent article posted by BBC News on Feb. 19th of Turkey's recent renewment of bombardment against the Kurds (People's Protection Units) inside Syria. The US and UN have both pressed Turkey to cease shelling the YPG and EU urged Turkey to stop shelling Syria.

This article provides a detailed outline of the battle against ISIS in Iraq and Syria through the use of maps, charts, and photographs to allow readers to visualize areas where fighting is taking place. Several maps provide locations of ISIS controlled territory, locations of airstrikes, and locations of ISIS controlled oil refineries. It was really helpful to see different maps outlining this information because I often hear about this conflict on the radio or television programs and it can be hard to understand the scope of the conflict without any visual aids. I really appreciated the effort to show in detail the specific locations.

This article outlined the fight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq providing detailed maps, charts, and photos to present a more clear picture of where violence and air strikes are occurring.

In this news article on the BBC, a PKK commander claims that while the both sides leadership desires to move forward with the peace process, the peace talks with Turkey are in danger of turning into conflict. Cemil Bayik, a PKK commander in the Qandil mountains, says that the Turkish government's treatment of Kobane shows that it still views the PKK and the Kurdish people as a bigger threat than ISIS. Meanwhile, a Turkish government official, Yasin Aktay, vice-chairman of the ruling AK Party, gave a statement saying that the PKK and the Kurds are using current time of instability to try to "upset the status quo", and try to set up a system of self-governance like Iraqi Kurdish groups. This article ends with dire warnings by both sides. Aktay warns that in the coming weeks and months, Turkey will actively try to prevent a "power grab" by the PKK in Kurdish towns. Meanwhile, Cemil Bayik says that unless the Turkish government changes its policies, the conflict between the Kurds and Turkey will continue, asserting that "if necessary the Kurds will fight against the Islamic State and the Turkish army."

A PKK commander tells the BBC that the peace process with Turkey is in danger of turning into conflict.

This article by the BBC news talks about the recent banning of social media in Turkey. The interesting thing that this article points out is that social media was banned when it was near an election. The fact that they control the flow of information to the citizens around election time is extremely significant, because not being able to communicate about the elections can greatly impact the results.

The Mosul Dam is an incredibly important strategic location in the war between IS and Iraqi and Kurdish forces. This is because the dam controls water flow and generates electricity for most of Iraq. After it was captured by IS on 09/11/14, President Obama authorized air support for Iraqi and Kurdish forces, in response to the treat posed by the flooding of the Tigris river. The dam was recaptured, but the third largest dam in Iraq, the Fallujah dam, is still under IS control.

The Mosul Dam is an incredibly important strategic location in the war between IS and Iraqi and Kurdish forces. This is because the dam controls water flow and generates electricity for most of Iraq. After it was captured by IS on 09/11/14, President Obama authorized air support for Iraqi and Kurdish forces, in response to the treat posed by the flooding of the Tigris river. The dam was recaptured, but the third largest dam in Iraq, the Fallujah dam, is still under IS control.

The Mosul Dam is an incredibly important strategic location in the war between IS and Iraqi and Kurdish forces. This is because the dam controls water flow and generates electricity for most of Iraq. After it was captured by IS on 09/11/14, President Obama authorized air support for Iraqi and Kurdish forces, in response to the treat posed by the flooding of the Tigris river. The dam was recaptured, but the third largest dam in Iraq, the Fallujah dam, is still under IS control.

This article talks about anti-government activists in Saudi Arabia. These are hidden activist but BBC has dive deep to see their perspective

This article details were certain countries, that are most affected by the Syrian conflict, stand within the conflict and how they would like to solve the issue. 

In this article, by BBC, eight young Saudi women speak out on their lives and hopes for the future. These women attend a private college in Saudi Arabia. Their perspectives all range from extremely hopeful to do what men can to just being happy to be a good mother and wife.

Six weeks have passed since the US-led coalition began its strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants and other jihadist groups in Syria, but recent developments in the stricken country confirm that the mission is facing huge challenges, as BBC Arabic's Feras Kilani reports "We are vanishing before the eyes of the whole world, including our friends in the US," a disappointed moderate commander told the BBC over the phone, after his group's defeat by the Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria.

This BBC News article covers the recent, summer 2014 conflict between Hamas and Israel. It also touches on previous conflicts, and the issues that started them.

Interesting article about challenges social media companies face in preventing and deactivating accounts with content or users linked to terrorist organizations such as ISIS.

Russia will hand to the UN evidence implicating Syrian rebels in the chemical attack that occurred on August 21 in Damascus. The report blames the rebels although the US has believed it to be the regime who used the chemical weapons. Russia is one of Syria's most important international ally.

Hamas plays a large role in Palestinian politics. Their clash with Fatah in 2007 struck the Gaza strip and led to an outbreak in fighting and sanctions put onto Hamas.

This BBC News Profile offers a good overview of the organization, their roots, and their aims for Gaza and their Palestinian supporters.