According to an article from France 24, a U.S. led coalition group recently dropped an airstrike that killed and injured Iraqi government soldiers and civilians. The strike resulted in 8 deaths and left 11 people injured. Several Iraqi officers stated anonymously that the accidental strike on civilians occurred because “coordination was not at the required level.” Since then, the prime… Read more »
Upon meeting with Israeli Parliament on Monday, Vice President Mike Pence announced that the US Embassy in Jerusalem is planned to be opened by the end of 2019. Though at first it may not seem completely controversial, in doing this, the US is speeding up an operation thought to need 4-5 years. Because US leadership has said nothing other than… Read more »
https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/30/middleeast/sochi-russia-syria-talks-intl/index.html (CNN)A Russia-engineered peace conference aimed at bringing together warring factions in Syria has been fruitless, with the main opposition figures snubbing the talks and those who did attend walking out. Opposition members who took part in the conference at the Black Sea resort of Sochi heckled Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday during his speech before the… Read more »
https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/22/politics/mike-pence-israel-jerusalem-intl/index.html Jerusalem (CNN)The US will open its embassy in Jerusalem by the end of 2019, US Vice President Mike Pence said Monday in Israel’s parliament, confirming that the controversial move is speeding up after officials earlier said it could take three to four years. Pence told Israeli lawmakers that Jerusalem was “the capital of the state of Israel,” reiterating President… Read more »
https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/27/middleeast/iraq-police-killed-coalition-operation/index.html (CNN)Eight people were killed and 20 others were wounded in an Iraq military operation and US airstrikes Saturday, the town’s injured mayor told CNN. Sharhabil al-Obaidi, the mayor of al-Baghdadi in Anbar province, said a bodyguard, a civilian and six police officers were killed after Iraqi military and special police forces raided a house. The bodyguard and civilian died… Read more »
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/01/turkey-official-disputes-trump-erdogan-call-readout-180125055435970.html The White House summary of a phone conversation between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump has reflected the content inaccurately, a Turkish official told Al Jazeera. Erdogan and Trump spoke over the phone on Tuesday to discuss the intensifying situation in northern Syria, following a Turkish offensive there to rid the area of Kurdish fighters…. Read more »
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/01/separatists-government-headquarters-aden-180128073439998.html Yemen’s prime minister has accused southern separatist forces backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of staging a “coup” after they seized several government offices during deadly clashes in the port city of Aden. “In Aden, legitimacy is being overturned,” Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher said in a statement on Sunday. “What is happening is very dangerous and affects the security, stability and… Read more »
http://www.france24.com/en/20180125-usa-israel-palestinians-jerusalem-trump-davos US President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to withhold aid to the Palestinians if they did not pursue peace with Israel, saying they had snubbed the United States by not meeting Vice President Mike Pence during a recent visit. Trump, speaking after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland said… Read more »
http://www.france24.com/en/20180127-iraq-several-soldiers-killed-us-air-strike-targeting-iraqi-forces-mistake-official A coalition air strike mistakenly hit friendly Iraqi forces and civilians in western Anbar Saturday, according to senior Iraqi officers, but the U.S.-led coalition said the matter is still under investigation. The military aircraft mistakenly fired at a gathering of Iraqi tribal fighters allied with the central government and civilians in western Anbar, killing seven and wounding 11 others,… Read more »
In the past week, a new development in the Kurdistan conflict has begun. Feeling threatened by the growing number of armed Kurdish fighters in Syria, Turkish troops have crossed the border into the neighboring Syrian territory around Afrin. This operation is an extension of Turkey’s suppression of the Kurdistan movements in its own southern territory. The Turkish military’s crossing over… Read more »