Islamic State Regains Strength in Syria
The U.S. has sent more forces to Syria, tamping down on the immediate threat, but experts warn that the extremist group could break thousands of hardened fighters out of prison.
The U.S. has sent more forces to Syria, tamping down on the immediate threat, but experts warn that the extremist group could break thousands of hardened fighters out of prison.
The militias that control the Druse religious minority’s heartland in southwestern Syria have resisted the new government’s attempts to bring all armed groups under its control.
Turkey is still bombing armed Kurdish insurgents in Iraq and Syria, even after their leader urged them to lay down their arms and disband, and their group declared a cease-fire.
The agreement marked a major victory for Damascus in its quest to unify the country, as violent unrest continues to grip Syria’s coastal region.
The conflict poses a challenge for the new interim president as he tries to unify Syria and extend his authority over the entire country.
The group, the P.K.K., made its declaration days after its long-imprisoned leader urged the movement to disarm and disband, but there are still many questions about the prospects for ending…
The gambit could give the Turkish president a chance to extend his power, while also calming a conflict that threatens to undermine the new Syrian government.
The fighting has taken more than 40,000 lives over the past four decades. The group’s leader is now calling for its fighters to put down their arms.
Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the guerrilla Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or P.K.K., called on his fighters to lay down their arms after decades of fighting the Turkish state.
Although the conference was called to chart the country’s future, the Kurdish-led militia that controls much of Syria’s northeast was not invited.