Turkey

Erdogan: Turkey Will Never let 'Syria be Divided Again'

Syria must never be divided again and Turkey will act against anyone seeking to compromise its territory, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday. "From now on, we cannot allow Syria to be divided again... Any attack on the freedom of the Syrian people, the stability of the new administration, and the integrity of its lands will find us ...

Rojava, Syria's Kurdish Enclave Under US Shield

People of Kurdish descent make up the majority of the population of northeastern Syria. The Kurdish enclave, often called Rojava, is home to an estimated 2 million Kurds, making it the country’s largest ethnic minority. Rojava encompasses three cantons: Kobane in the middle, Cizre to the east and Afrin in the west. In the past, the three ...

War in Syria: 13 Years of Conflict

2011: The winds of the Arab Spring reach Syria. Peaceful protests erupt in Deraa, as the people call for reforms and justice. Bashar al-Assad's regime responds swiftly and brutally. The crackdown is bloody, and anger becomes the driving force of the protesters. The demonstrations spread across the country like wildfire. This marks the beginning of ...

Mohammad al-Bashir to Lead Syria’s Transition After Assad’s Fall

Mohammad al-Bashir, a prominent figure in the administration led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has been named Syria’s new Prime minister, according to reports on Monday. Al-Bashir previously headed the ‘Salvation’ Government, an HTS-affiliated authority that governed parts of northwestern Syria, including Idlib. Reports ...

Turkey to Reopen Syrian Border Gate to Support Refugee Return

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday pledged to reopen a border post on Turkey's southern frontier with Syria to facilitate the return of refugees after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad. "In order to ease the traffic at the border, we're opening the Yayladagi border gate," Erdogan said, referring to a crossing on the westerly edge of the ...

Turkey Calls For an "Inclusive" Government in Syria

Turkey's top diplomat called on Monday for an "inclusive" new government in Syria after Islamist-led rebels toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad following a lightning advance. "We expect international actors, especially the United Nations, to reach out to the Syrian people and support the establishment of an inclusive administration," Foreign ...

The Debacle

The meteoric downfall of the Alawite regime in Syria is symptomatic of the systemic changes taking place throughout the Middle Eastern geopolitical spectrum and its overall reverberations. However inchoate, the ongoing military and political dynamics are substantively overhauling the regional landscape. The inevitable demise of Iranian influence, ...

What Political Governance for Post-Assad Syria? (1/2)

Sunday, December 8, marks a historic turning point for Syria and, more broadly, for the Middle East. The dictatorial regime of Bashar al-Assad has fallen! After decades of authoritarian rule, defined by brutal repression and years of devastating civil war, a new chapter of freedom is beginning to unfold. At dawn on Sunday, rebel forces took ...

Syria: Various Indicators of an Imminent Collapse

A new dawn breaks over Syria, liberated from the man who has been known at times as “the tyrant of Damascus,” and at other times as “the executioner.” After the fall of Homs on Saturday night into the hands of opposition rebels, the collapse of Damascus and Bashar al-Assad’s regime was just a matter of hours. Since the surprise ...

The Assad Dynasty in Syria: Autocratic Legacy, Repression and Challenges

Syria has been under the rule of the Assad dynasty for more than half a century. Hafez al-Assad, the founder, seized power in 1970, followed by his son Bashar, who took control in 2000 after his father's death. Belonging to the Alawite minority, the Assads established an autocratic regime over a predominantly Sunni population, portraying ...