Photo: washingtonpost.com
From Egypt to Syria, Palestine to Iraq, the hopes of the Arab spring lie in tatters. And with the latest conflict in Gaza, the Middle East is more violent, volatile and complex than ever
It’s complicated – and extremely violent – in the Middle East these days. Iraq is in a state of war again after Sunni Jihadis conquered swaths of territory. US troops – though now only “advisers” – are back in Shia-ruled Baghdad. In Syria, next door, the conflict rages on – bleeding into Iraq across a desert border drawn up during the First World War and now effectively erased by the Islamic State (Isis), the triumphant advocates of a seventh-century Islamic caliphate. Palestine, the region’s oldest conflict, has exploded spectacularly with the latest bout of fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza…
Continue reading:A guide to Middle East politics in 2014 | World | The Guardian