SYRIA Somewhere in the neighborhood of 6500 people have fled Baghouz over the past two days, as the Syrian Democratic Forces militia assaults the last bit (sort of--see below) of Syrian territory still under ISIS control. Several hundred of those have been ISIS fighters, whom the SDF took into custody (there's certainly a chance that … Continue reading Middle East update: March 5 2019

I've got some things to take care of this evening, so today's update is a little truncated and early. Back for more tomorrow. MIDDLE EAST SYRIA The Syrian Democratic Forces are making slow progress in their offensive to capture the border town of Baghouz and with it ISIS's last enclave of Syrian territory. Around 500 … Continue reading World update: March 4 2019

ASIA AFGHANISTAN The Taliban launched another attack on Camp Shorab in Helmand province on Friday night, killing at least 23 Afghan soldiers in an engagement that lasted into Saturday evening. At least 22 Taliban fighters were reportedly killed. In a separate attack in Sar-e Pol province on Saturday, the Taliban killed at least nine Afghan … Continue reading World update: March 2-3 2019

SYRIA The battle for Baghouz, and along with it ISIS's last enclave in Syria, is on. Syrian Democratic Forces fighters have reportedly entered the town and are meeting the anticipated heavy resistance from the remaining ISIS defenders. As they usually do in the last stages of a fight in which they're facing a vastly stronger … Continue reading Middle East update: March 2-3 2019

AFRICA ALGERIA If you've been hoping for the protests against Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's potential fifth term in office to dissipate, Friday was not your day: Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Algiers on Friday to denounce Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s decision to run for a fifth term, and police fired … Continue reading World update part 2: March 1 2019

MIDDLE EAST SYRIA The Syrian Democratic Forces on Friday began what should be their final offensive to capture Baghouz and close off the last ISIS-controlled enclave in Syria. The SDF has spent the past couple of weeks evacuating thousands of civilians, escaped slaves, and even some fleeing ISIS fighters from the town--some 10,000 people are … Continue reading World update part 1: March 1 2019

EUROPE UKRAINE Hundreds of people protested in Kiev on Thursday demanding the impeachment of President Petro Poroshenko. Presumably they won't be voting for him in next month's presidential election then. On top of his failure to end the war, boost the Ukrainian economy, eliminate or even sightly reduce corruption, and, well, you get the idea, … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: February 28 2019

AFGHANISTANA group of Taliban fighters attacked a police outpost in Balkh province on Thursday, killing five police officers in what Afghan officials described as a five hour battle. US Afghan envoy Zalmay Khalilzad described this week's meetings in Doha between his team and Taliban representatives as "productive" via Twitter on Thursday. The two sides reportedly … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: February 28 2019

SYRIA Donald Trump, perhaps looking for a distraction after his summit with Kim Jong-un fell apart (more on that later), told US soldiers during a stopover in Alaska that the Syrian Democratic Forces have retaken the last bit of Syrian territory still held by ISIS. This was a big revelation, and would probably come as … Continue reading Middle East update: February 28 2019

ASIA KASHMIR I wish I could say things are cooling off here, but, well, that would be a lie. Both Pakistan and India claim to have shot down one another's aircraft on Wednesday, after the Pakistanis apparently carried out an airstrike on Indian territory. The Pakistanis claim they shot down two Indian planes and initially … Continue reading World update: February 27 2019