Syria
Kurds cautiously optimistic about PKK’s ceasefire with Turkey
For more than 40 years, the Turkish government has fought the PKK in eastern Turkey, northern Iraq and Syria. Recent efforts to establish a ceasefire between the Turkish government and the PKK raise new hopes for stability in the Middle East.
After Assad’s fall, long-displaced Syrians begin to return home
Syrians waited in long queues at border gates in southern Turkey this week, preparing to return to their homeland. With a dictator gone and loved ones newly released from prison, many Syrians who have lived in Turkey for years are eager to return. Others say an evolving security situation and financial concerns are giving them pause.
‘We are experiencing a taste of freedom’: Syrians react to President Bashar al-Assad’s downfall
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has fled the country and, for the first time in two decades, Syrians say they are experiencing a taste of freedom. Assad brutally repressed a popular uprising, which started in 2011. His forces killed, tortured and imprisoned those who spoke out against the government. Some Syrians share about what his departure means to them.
Russia’s military role in Syria
Russian state news agencies reported on Sunday that Bashar al-Assad and his family fled to Russia where they will be granted asylum. For years, the Kremlin’s political and military support has enabled Assad to cling onto power. Today, Russia’s military still has boots on the ground in Syria — but with the fall of the Assad regime, the Kremlin’s foothold has become uncertain.
US authorities arrest a former Syrian official in Los Angeles
Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was arrested at the airport on his way out of the US this week. The World’s host Carolyn Beeler discussed the significance of the move with Mouaz Mustafa, who played a key role in his detention.