Middle East and North Africa

"[From 02:39:20 onward] They have gone underground, there are estimates that there are 10,000 ISIL fighters in Iraq and Syria. Some are foreign, some are local. There will be challenges in Iraq and Syria, of what to do with those detained, because neither country is obviously capable of managing such large loads. There are numerous internally displaced people, in Iraq it's 1,800,000 and and many of them are perceived to have links to ISIL and are not welcomed back to their community. So there are going to be enormous challenges. "

Today Programme 15/02/18

Upholding Stability in the Middle East: An Opportunity for Russia–Europe Cooperation?

Andrei Kortunov and Malcolm Chalmers

No single power can ‘fix’ the current turmoil in the Middle East. Still, there may be scope for Russia–Europe cooperation in managing the region’s ills.

Introducing a Trauma-Informed Practice Framework to Provide Support in Conflict-Affected Countries: The Case of the Syrian White Helmets

Nicola Lester

A proposal for a ‘trauma-informed’ framework to provide training and support to the Syrian White Helmets.

"At the moment ISIS has not yet been defeated, militarily yes, things are looking good, but stabilisation operations will be going on for years to come. "

Pulling US troops from Syria is conditional, says Bolton

"“The lesson in operations in the Middle East has been that body armor saves lives, so the default is to put it all on,” says Jack Watling of UK defense think tank RUSI. "

The Overloaded Soldier: Why U.S. Infantry Now Carry More Weight Than Ever

Armed Drones in the Middle East: Proliferation and Norms in the Region

Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi and Justin Bronk

This Occasional Paper aims to provide an in-depth inventory of armed drones possessed by Middle Eastern states, assessing quantity, types and timeframes; and to explore where and how armed drones have been used so far, to assess whether and how countries' practices and ethical considerations around airpower and airstrikes are affected.