Peshmerga

Kurdish PUK works to repair their relationship with Turkey

Jalal Talabani, who died mid last year, was the founder and for a long time leader of the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan). For a time there was a cease fire between Turkey and the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) because of a deal he brokered. It all fell apart very quickly when the PKK abducted […]

KRG employees conduct protests and strikes amid salary cuts

Kurdistan’s Regional Government will convene this week to debate altering the current salary-saving system, a concept that has been the subject of controversy and negative feedback since its proposal. The Council of Ministers for the KRG holding a meeting is taking place in the wake of mass protests by government employees demanding an abolition of […]

The private sector and the rebuilding of the Middle East after ISIS

The U.S. Department of State is advocating the use of the private sector in the rebuilding and reconstruction of Syrian and Iraqi infrastructure in the wake of the war with the Islamic State. Rather than nation building as a government, they believe that privatizing the reformation process will be a far more feasible solution to […]

Kirkuk citizens flee their homes in fear of continued ISIS presence

Residents of Kirkuk’s southern territories have been abandoning their homes for fear of Islamic State attacks and kidnappings. They say that Iraqi security forces only maintain a presence within the main city and larger villages; that Hashdt al-Shaabi is not an acceptable anti-terrorism element and has not performed as a security force well. A resident […]

Coalition spokesman says Operation Inherent Resolve is suffering due to Turkish aggression

In a recent interview, US Army Colonel Ryan Dillon who is a spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve said that the Turkish military’s incursion into Afrin was directly affecting the coalitions efforts to combat the Islamic State. The Syrian Democratic Forces have recently relocated a large amount of their forces in an effort to defend Afrin, effectively […]

Iraq and Turkey lean toward future conflict over PKK

Turkey has put Iraq on edge with a bold campaign in Iraqi Kurdistan’s northern mountains where they have conducted airstrikes against the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party), a long time enemy of Turkey and Operation Olive Branch in Syria. Iraq has made it clear that it does not want any help from Turkey with the foreign […]

Kurdistan strives to solve its water-based resource deficiency

The Iraqi-Kurdistan autonomous region is plagued with many serious infrastructural problems. Among them, the Kurdish Regional Government has stressed that the region’s water resources are dangerously deficient in legal guidelines for its conservation and security. A water conservation proposal was introduced by Kurdish parliament’s committee for agriculture and water resources in 2017, but is still […]

ChVK Vagner mercenaries speak out about the nature of their work

Russian mercenaries with ChVK Vagner declared they are fighting in Syria for patriotic reasons, in a recent anonymous interview with RFE/RL news. One commander declared, “[Syrians] can’t stand Assad. Really. Only a tiny percentage of the population there supports him and the rest oppose him. Only [Russian President Vladimir] Putin supports him. Russia supports him — no […]

The SDF releases a statement in the wake of losing Afrin to Turkish forces

The Kurdish-Syrian city of Afrin has fallen to the Turkish army’s barrage of artillery and airstrikes paired with its FSA (Free Syrian Army) proxies and ground forces. The SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) and YPG (People’s protection Units) have been forced to pull back their conventional forces but are acknowledging an stage of the conflict is […]

British YPJ fighter killed in Afrin

A British citizen who was fighting on behalf of the Syrian Democratic Forces, under the YPJ, has been confirmed killed in Afrin by Turkish military forces. Anna Campbell was part of the all female YPJ militia and one of several foreign volunteer fighters to be killed during Operation Olive Branch since it’s start in January. […]