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Struggling Mideast states will call on Arab identity

Location:

MIDDLE EAST

The League itself has long been a talking-shop with minimal influence, and Arabism has declined sharply in salience since its heights in the 1960s. Nonetheless, references to…

Iraqi factions will seek territorial gains

Location:

IRAQ

With IS in retreat, many Iraqis fear conflict, as controversial questions about territory and administration rise up the agenda. These disputes are more complex than the prevalent…

Iraqi Kurds fear Turkey’s post-Syria territorial goals

Location:

IRAQ

Despite rivalry between the leading Kurdish parties of Syria and Iraq, the October 9 Turkish incursion into Syria sparked widespread anger among Iraqi Kurds. They fear a new…

Iraqi Kurdistan is set to lose much of its autonomy

Location:

IRAQ

Between deepening internal divisions, increased foreign pressure and a stark economic crisis, the semi-autonomy of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) is facing its most severe…

Damascus may indulge Kurdish autonomy hopes

Location:

SYRIA

On the same day, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem told his Russian counterpart that although the Kurds were “drunk” on US assistance, Damascus would not allow the violation…

Iraqi budget squeeze threatens Kurdish chaos

Location:

IRAQ

Since the KRI lost control of several oil fields following the failed independence referendum on September 25, its already-tight fiscal situation has worsened sharply. Iraq’s…

Iran and Turkey will compartmentalise relations

Location:

IRAN/TURKEY

As the new US administration seeks to re-engage with Iran, both Washington and Ankara have launched negotiations with Tehran's enemy Saudi Arabia. Iran and Turkey have major…

Iraq’s Sunnis face an uncertain future

Location:

IRAQ

The slow government-led offensive against IS has raised questions about the future governance of territory reclaimed from the jihadi group, especially in Nineveh province. There…

Iraqi-Kurdish clashes near Kirkuk could spread

Location:

IRAQ

The federal government offensive began on October 13, after a rise in tensions following Kirkuk’s inclusion in the September 25 Kurdish independence referendum.

Turkish suspicion may derail Syrian Kurds’ unity deal

Location:

SYRIA

The PYD controls the US-backed Kurdish-led administration in north-east Syria. It was the target of an October 2019 invasion by Turkey, which equates it with its own rebel…