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May 24, 2021

The US sanctions regimen against the Assad regime is working. Here’s how.

By Peter Metzger

The US' targeted and tailored sanctions regimen not only give the US and its allies leverage toward a political resolution to the conflict, but so too do said designations hold together a de facto nationwide ceasefire throughout Syria.

Economic Sanctions Middle East

MENASource

May 21, 2021

Libya has a mercenaries problem. It’s time for the international community to step up.

By Alia Brahimi

One of the darker realities of the war in Libya is that the conflict (now in its eleventh year) is powered by layers of actors from outside the contested territory. Libyans have been killed and their country ravaged by foreign soldiers of fortune.

Libya Middle East

MENASource

May 20, 2021

Experts React: What’s next after the Israel-Hamas ceasefire?

By Atlantic Council

After eleven days of cross-border fighting, Hamas and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire. Atlantic Council experts react to the news, assess the significance of the recent surge in violence, and offer their thoughts on how the international community should deal with the conflict moving forward.

Israel Middle East

MENASource

May 18, 2021

Factbox: Iranian presence in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor province

By Navvar Saban

Since the beginning of 2018, Iran has been directly involved in the battle against ISIS in eastern Syria. Through its participation, Iran has been able to carry out its expansion project specifically in Deir ez-Zor, a province bordering Iraq that is troubled by a fragile security situation.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

May 13, 2021

The escalation between Israel and Hamas: What’s new—and what’s not

By Shalom Lipner

While the intensity of the fighting appears to have caught some veteran practitioners of Middle East conflict and diplomacy by surprise, a trail of discernable factors led to this fraught outcome.

Israel Middle East

MENASource

May 11, 2021

Co-opting cybersecurity in Egypt

By Bassant Hassib and James Shires

Cybersecurity is one of several frequent and overlapping justifications for censorship by the Egyptian government, in addition to strengthened counterterrorism and media regulation.

Digital Policy Middle East

MENASource

May 10, 2021

Want resiliency in MENA? Invest in women-led startups

By Nadereh Chamlou

As MENA assesses how to rebuild better after the pandemic, women-led startups could be part of the solution.

Economy & Business Middle East

MENASource

May 5, 2021

Qatar and Egypt are letting bygones be bygones

By Allison Nour

Ultimately, increased Qatari-Egyptian cooperation will likely do more to align with the Joe Biden administration’s interests in increasing diplomacy in the region at a time when the US is re-evaluating its military footprint.

Middle East North Africa

MENASource

May 3, 2021

Syrian Transitional Military Council: A ‘social media invention’ or much more?

By Matthew Ayton

Recent weeks have seen a crescendo of rumors claiming that local, regional, and international support is growing to establish a Syrian Transitional Military Council. It would allegedly be led by defected Brigadier General Manaf Tlass, whose mandate would be to midwife the war-ravaged nation into a post-Bashar al-Assad future.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Apr 30, 2021

Déby’s death: A microcosm of the flaws of French foreign policy in Libya

By Emadeddin Badi

Far from being the sole architect of his premature death, the conditions that led to Chadian President Idriss Déby’s passing are also a direct byproduct of the myopic policies of his main Western ally—France—in neighboring Libya.

Iran Middle East