Experts from the U.S. Institute of Peace provide the latest analysis and perspective on the world’s critical hot spots, U.S. and global security and issues involved in violent conflict, based on the Institute’s work on the ground and with key individuals, governments and organizations. They give interviews and background briefings to journalists and write for news outlets around the world.
NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Mona Yacoubian of the U.S. Institute of Peace about the role Russia's military played in Syria and what she thinks the legacy of that conflict is today.
For those shocked by images of Ukrainian civilians targeted by Russian air strikes, I have one word for you: Syria. Moscow’s indiscriminate bombing campaign in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal war against his own people — including attacks on hospitals, schools, residential neighborhoods and markets — killed thousands of civilians. Its year-long military offensive in the rebel-held province of Idlib in 2019 was particularly savage, forcing as many as 1.4 million people from their homes...
After a decade of warfare, the conflict in Syria has settled into a violent, protracted stalemate. Now, as before, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad continues to act with impunity. He has forcibly disappeared tens of thousands of Syrians and subjected thousands more to torture, sexual violence, or death in detention. The country is in a full-blown humanitarian crisis: an estimated 90 percent of Syrians live below the poverty line, and 60 percent are food insecure—the highest proportion since the start of the conflict, according to the United Nations...
Absent an unforeseen event, experts say Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad is not going to lose his grip on power any time soon – something that is moving many Arab countries to normalise relations with the government in Damascus. Thousands of kilometres away in Washington, DC, United States policy on Syria has become a balancing act between maintaining a rejection of Assad while pursuing “realistic” goals in the region...
Ten years ago, it appeared to be the beginning of the end for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. His government's brutal crackdowns on peaceful protests in 2011 had given birth to an insurgency backed by foreign foes—the U.S. among them. Atrocities mounted, including use of chemical weapons against civilians, mass murders and torture, over the course of the decade-long civil war that followed. Estimates suggest that more than 600,000 people have died and millions more have been displaced, making the Syrian civil war one of the deadliest, most disruptive conflicts of the 21st century...
As Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi to address escalating tensions in Idlib, Moscow and Damascus are working to consolidate recent political gains made along the country's southern border...
Host Carol Castiel and VOA senior diplomatic correspondent, Cindy Saine, talk with Mona Yacoubian, a senior official at the US Institute of Peace who tells VOA that the end of the US military intervention in Afghanistan underscores the need to prioritize diplomacy, peacebuilding, and development...
Just before going into self-isolation for possible COVID-19 exposure, Russia's Vladimir Putin met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Moscow. The World's Carol Hills spoke with Mona Yacoubian, a senior adviser at the US Institute for Peace, about Russia's role and future strategic goals in the Syrian conflict...
There is growing discontent among Lebanese with political and military powerhouse Hezbollah calling the shots in the country. Analysts say a 2006-style confrontation with Israel, which bolstered its militia image then, is not an option for Iran-backed Hezbollah now, as it's seen as...