War & Conflict Archive

Algeria has taken a series of steps recently to boost cooperation with its neighbors in response to increasing violence from al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Algeria and Mauritania agreed to increase security efforts in the Sahel region, while Algeria and Niger announced that they would launch joint border patrols and share intelligence. Algeria also sent troops into Mali to combat the terrorist threat. These countries have long looked to Algeria, the dominant economic and military power in the region, to take the lead on cooperation, according to Stephen Tankel, an assistant professor at American University and scholar at the […]

At least sixteen people were killed in a series of shootings on Thursday in the Mexican coastal state of Veracruz, where drug-related violence flared up earlier this year.

A roadside bomb blast kills five Polish troops in Afghanistan, the largest loss of life since Warsaw joined the NATO force. World News Videos by NewsLook

Russia presented a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council on Thursday that condemned the violence in Syria after nine months of protests and 5,000 deaths in that country. The proposal, which demands that “all parties in Syria immediately stop any violence irrespective of where it comes from,” followed months of deadlock over whether and how the Security Council should respond to the ongoing crisis. But while the draft resolution may represent a step closer to compromise, the debate over what comes next will continue, says Richard Gowan, an associate director at New York University’s Center on International Cooperation. […]

Freezing winter weather in Afghanistan is bringing down the number of attacks by Taliban-allied fighters, but security is still a concern.

The Iraq War began with “shock and awe.” It ended with quiet dignity, with battle flags coming down from their standards, with a free but fragile Iraq walking into the unknown and a bloodied but unbowed U.S. military saluting its commander-in-chief and marching home. Much about America’s war in Iraq was remarkable: the rapid collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the surprising absence of WMDs, the unexpectedly high economic and human costs, the patience of the American people — eight years is a long war for this nation’s short attention span — the ferocity of the postwar occupation, the sacrifice and […]

The Obama administration entered office three years ago with high hopes that it could repair America’s relationships with other key powers in the world. While some successes were achieved in 2009 and 2010, Washington closes out 2011 facing the sobering reality of simultaneously deteriorating relationships with China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Russia. At the same time, Washington can expect only limited support from its major Western allies in managing a host of global hotspots, as the ongoing eurozone crisis has, in a matter of months, turned European attention away from a more activist and interventionist approach to the world toward […]

This week in the small Western Saharan town of Tifariti, delegations are arriving for the 13th Conference of the Polisario Front, the United Nations-recognized group that has fought since the 1970s for Western Sahara’s independence from Morocco. The gathering, to be held Dec. 15-20, is expected to draw some 1,500 people from the region, as well as from Asia, Europe and Latin America. It will broach a topic that has otherwise gone largely overlooked in the aftermath of the Arab Spring uprisings that have swept the Middle East and North Africa in the name of greater representation and government accountability: […]

The United Nations’ envoy to Yemen met government officials in Taiz, as protesters in Sanaa called for the resignation of President Saleh. Video News by NewsLook

With the European financial crisis dominating headlines, little attention has been given to the Eueopean Union’s recently announced plan to send a team of police and security experts to North Africa to ramp up counterterrorism efforts against al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. The development, announced earlier this week, comes after a spate of kidnappings of Westerners by AQIM-affiliated groups, along with mounting concerns that weapons from the conflict in Libya could end up in the organization’s hands. That the EU has decided to focus on police training rather than military assistance can best be explained by the nature of the […]

It is impossible to predict with certainty what the future, even in the short or medium term, holds for the countries of the Middle East. But there is no question that the future of Lebanon is closely linked to that of its neighbor, Syria. With the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad under growing pressure from the domestic opposition, the fragile status quo in Lebanon is also in play. If and when the Assad regime is toppled in Damascus, his fall will unleash fierce political winds in Beirut. Assad has played a key role in the emergence of Hezbollah as […]

Tensions are running high in the Democratic Republic of Congo where voters will have to wait at least another two days to find out who their new president will be. Election results had initially been expected for Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of Colombians have taken to the streets in an outpouring of national anger against FARC rebels. The protests are in response to the FARC’s killing of four hostages, all members of the armed forces shot during a raid by government troops on a FARC hide-out last month.

On Nov. 28, the Turkish government reluctantly imposed comprehensive sanctions against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Meanwhile, Turkish leaders are now calling for Assad to step down, with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan comparing him to Hitler. Thus far, the Turkish government has relied on diplomatic, political and economic instruments to achieve its goals of regime change in Syria. But the possibility of active military intervention, though previously excluded and still unlikely, is becoming more plausible. Historically, relations between Turkey and Syria have been troubled, but they experienced a noticeable improvement since Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party […]

African migrants believed to be bound for Italy have been arrested in Libya, but claim they were tricked.

Recent reports from Syria of military defectors attacking an Air Force intelligence building in Hasrata highlight the growing likelihood that Syrian military sites will become a target in the country’s ongoing conflict. While no other similar attacks have been reported since then, the Hasrata incident illustrates the possibility of escalating instability within Syria’s military command, which could in turn lead to difficulties in controlling and securing Syrian military assets. In such a climate, Syria’s alleged chemical weapons program is cause for particular concern. The international community suspects Syria of having a comprehensive chemical weapons program that includes production and delivery […]

Israel reportedly test-fired a long-range missile in early November capable of hitting Iran. In an email interview, Dinshaw Mistry, an associate professor at the University of Cincinnati and the author of “Containing Missile Proliferation,” discussed Israel’s missile capabilities. WPR: What is the current size of Israel’s ballistic missile arsenal (short- and mid-range missiles and ranges, and long-range ICBMs)? Dinshaw Mistry: Israel is believed to deploy at least several tens of Jericho ballistic missiles. In the 1970s, Israel developed and deployed the single-stage Jericho-1 missile, which had a range of 250-300 miles and could reach Israel’s immediate neighbors. In the 1980s […]