Coalition attacks Yemen capital after UAE, Saudi soldiers killed
Reuters reports: Warplanes from the United Arab Emirates struck Houthi targets across Yemen, state news agency WAM said on Saturday, a day after at least 60 soldiers from a Saudi-led coalition, mostly...
View ArticleWhy are the Gulf states so reluctant to take in refugees?
By Rana Jawad, University of Bath Europe’s reaction to the refugee crisis has hardly been a calm and considered one; with fences erected and border controls reinstated, the continent’s governments are...
View ArticleU.S.-led air war on ISIS in Syria has little allied support
The New York Times reports: As the United States prepares to intensify airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria, the Arab allies who with great fanfare sent warplanes on the initial missions there...
View ArticleThe video that stunned Bahrain on its uprising’s anniversary
France 24 reports: The second anniversary of Bahrain’s popular uprising was marked by renewed violence, resulting in the death of a 16-year old boy. In the video, filmed right after the teenager’s...
View ArticleGulf states guarding their interests in Saudi-Iran rift
The New York Times reports: For all the diplomatic dominoes that have fallen across the Middle East in recent days, with ambassadors from different countries flying home as a result of the explosive...
View ArticleBritain lobbied UN to whitewash Bahrain police abuses
The Observer reports: neutering United Nations criticism of Bahrain for its human rights record, including the alleged use of torture by its security forces. Documents shared with the Observer reveal...
View ArticleCavorting with extremism: UK cracks down at home, befriends extremists abroad
By Brian Whitaker, May 18, 2016 Today Queen Elizabeth will deliver her annual speech to the British parliament setting out the government’s programme for the next 12 months. High on the list of...
View ArticleHow Arab authoritarian regimes learned to defeat popular protests
Marc Lynch writes: The Arab world never seemed more unified than during the incandescent days of the 2011 Arab uprisings. Tunisia’s revolution clearly and powerfully inspired Arabs everywhere to take...
View ArticleU.S. decision to lift an arms embargo has empowered Bahrain to intensify its...
Nabeel Rajab writes: I write this from a Bahraini jail cell where I have been detained, largely in isolation, since the beginning of summer. This is not new to me: I have been here before, from 2012 to...
View ArticleMap of U.S. airstrikes across Syria
#Infographic: Map of #US-led airstrikes over #Syria. #ISIS http://t.co/vPFCeDVSX4 pic.twitter.com/Eid78T9Qgq — Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) September 23, 2014 Vast majority of strikes were...
View ArticleAssad’s war on doctors
Annie Sparrow, deputy director of the human rights program at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, writes: Over the last few weeks, the growing plight of Syria’s civilian population has...
View ArticleU.S. and allies launch airstrikes on ISIS targets in Syria
The New York Times reports: The United States and allies launched airstrikes against Sunni militants in Syria early Tuesday, unleashing a torrent of cruise missiles and precision-guided bombs from the...
View ArticleThe Arab Spring is far from over
Koert Debeuf writes: What were once high hopes for a new, free and democratic Arab World have turned into civil wars in Syria, Libya, Yemen and Iraq. Instead of democracies, countries like Egypt,...
View ArticleRex Tillerson to lift human rights conditions on arms sale to Bahrain
The New York Times reports: Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson has decided to lift all human rights conditions on a major sale of F-16 fighter jets and other arms to Bahrain in an effort to end a rift...
View ArticleTrump chases arms sales – whatever the human cost
The Guardian reports: The Trump administration’s decision to press ahead with a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Bahrain will dismay Shia opposition groups and international human rights campaigners...
View ArticleThe Arab Spring unleashed a wave of torture and abuse
Nader Hashemi writes: Assad’s chemical weapons attack and the subsequent U.S. missile strike on Syria jolted our world. Most of the commentary that ensued, however, was about the West. What are the...
View ArticleAfter Trump gives green light, Bahrain launches deadly crackdown on political...
The Washington Post reports: A raid by forces in Bahrain against a pro-opposition stronghold has left at least five people dead and hundreds detained in one of the deadliest crackdowns since protests...
View ArticleTrump is fomenting even more conflict in the Middle East
The Washington Post reports: In a speech intended to galvanize Arab and Muslim leaders against threats from extremists and Iran, President Trump demanded unity from his audience in Saudi Arabia, and...
View ArticleSaudi, Egypt lead Arab states cutting Qatar ties, Iran blames Trump
Reuters reports: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed their ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting terrorism and opening up the worst rift in years among some...
View ArticleThe $1bn hostage deal with Al Qaeda and Iran that enraged Qatar’s Gulf rivals
Financial Times reports: Qatar paid up to $1bn to release members of the Gulf state’s royal family who were kidnapped in Iraq while on a hunting trip, according to people involved in the hostage deal —...
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