Syrian Kurdish Leaders Say They Were Promised One Thing. The Deal Says Another.
As the Syrian army advances toward Hasakah city and presses deeper toward Syria’s core Kurdish areas, the SDF is increasingly…
Syrian Army Presses Toward Tabqa as SDF Seeks U.S. Lifeline in Erbil
The Syrian army is continuing its westward pressure on SDF-held Tabqa, the last Kurdish-controlled pocket west of the Euphrates, after…
Damascus Won Aleppo. The Next Battle Could Decide the SDF’s Fate.
The Syrian government’s victory in Aleppo should not be underestimated. The Sheikh Maqsoud–Ashrafieh pocket, previously controlled by SDF-backed security forces,…
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Arivan
The Iran Protest Wave’s Surprise Epicenter: Shi’a Kurdish Ilam
As the January 2026 Iran protest wave continues, after first erupting on 28 December 2025, some of the largest protests and sharpest violence have concentrated in Ilam province and, to…
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Arivan
As the SDF Integration Deadline Nears, the Leaks Tell the Real Story
As the year-end deadline for SDF integration into the HTS-led Syrian army looms, a war of leaks is sweeping the media. This comes amid reports of an expected, US-pushed visit…
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Arivan
Turkey’s Legal Reforms Due by Late February as PKK Gara–Hakurk Pullout Is Expected to Follow
The Turkish parliament’s peace commission has extended its work through the end of February—aimed at advancing legal reforms—amid Turkish media reporting that a PKK evacuation from the Gara and Hakurk…
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Arivan
How a bitter Washington divorce unravelled the secret U.S. fortune of the Barzani brothers
In a sprawling series of federal lawsuits filed between August 2023 and late 2025, Mahtaub Moore — a former Republican congressional candidate and veteran political operative — has alleged that…
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Arivan
Syria’s Kurds Are Stronger Than Ever. That May Not Be Enough.
Trump’s newly released National Security Strategy offers the clearest lens for understanding why northeast Syria’s political options are foreclosing. The document is not a Syria policy memo, but it establishes…
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Arivan
Will Turkey Let Mazloum Abdi and Ilham Ahmed Visit Ocalan on Imrali soon?
According to the official summary of the Turkish parliamentary peace commission’s visit to Abdullah Ocalan, when he was asked about SDF commander Mazloum Abdi, Ocalan confirmed that Abdi is “close…
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Arivan
Ocalan’s Ascent to ‘Father of the Kurds’: The PKK’s Ideologue and ‘Semi-Divine’ Centre of Gravity
This past week, three MPs who together represent a majority in the Turkish parliament flew by helicopter to the island prison of İmralı in the Sea of Marmara and spent…
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