MIDDLE EAST

On Friday, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said that it needs the world’s help in “sharing the burden” of over 1.2 million Syrian refugees it hosts, especially those not living in refugee camps. Several hundreds of thousands of Syrians have fled civil war in their country and sought refuge in neighboring Turkey for the past three years after …

Over 25 prominent Sunni tribes have armed themselves to combat extremists sweeping through Iraq, a tribal leader said on Friday. The uprising in the province of Anbar, where extremists from the Islamic State (IS) hold important territory, came only a day after incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who is vilified by Iraqi Sunnis, abandoned his attempt for a third term …

At an emergency meeting of the EU on Friday saw EU ministers agree to provide arms to Iraqi Kurd fighters being overwhelmed by extremists from the Islamic State (IS). Ministers gathered in Brussels in a rear summer meeting, facing calls to stop what Germany has called as a slaughter of civilians. “Iraq is on the brink of a true catastrophe. …

Late on Wednesday night, Israeli police arrested 52 Palestinians in East Jerusalem for alleged rioting, taking the total number of such arrests to over 600 since early July. On Thursday, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that more arrests are to be expected. “The majority of the incidents occurred in east Jerusalem against police officers who were on patrol; throwing …

On Thursday, Syrian government forces retook the town of Mleiha on the outskirts of Damascus after months of battle against rebel forces. Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights backed up the report. “The army, with the cooperation of the National Defense Forces (militia), has accomplished its mission of restoring stability and security to Mleiha”, the army command in its statement. …

On Thursday, five people were killed as Egyptian police tried to repress attempts made by supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi to memorialize the first anniversary of the crackdown in Cairo. On August 14th, 2013, current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, then the Egyptian army chief, had removed Morsi, the first freely elected President in Egypt. After Morsi’s removal, security forces …

US President Barack Obama on Thursday said that US air strikes had ended the siege in the Sinjar Mountains in Iraq where civilians had sought refuge, and that soldiers conducting reconnaissance will be withdrawn. However, he added that US air strikes will continue against extremist forces belonging to the Islamic State (IS) if they threaten US facilities and personnel in …

Palestinian and Israeli negotiators have reportedly agreed to extend their truce deal in the Gaza Strip by five days, only minutes before their three-day ceasefire was about to expire at 21:00 GMT on Wednesday. Officials from both parties have been in indirect talks in Cairo, with Egyptian mediators trying to find a peace solution to the conflict. Palestinian and Egyptian …

On Wednesday, militants from the extremist group Islamic State (IS) captured several villages in northern Syria, killing 52 people in the process, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The extremists captured eight villages between Aleppo and the Turkish border, bolstered by their success in Iraq, the observatory said. They killed 40 fighters from other rebel groups and capture 50 …

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State urged Iraq’s newly appointed prime minister-designate Haidar al-Abadi to quickly form an all-inclusive government. “We are urging him to form a new cabinet as swiftly as possible and the U.S. stands ready to support a new and inclusive Iraqi government and particularly its fight against ISIL. Let me be very clear, we have always …