Where is unrest in middle east

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Latest Updates Posted at Read more next. Posted at 11 Nov 11 Nov. Video content. By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent. Continuing this momentum, in the past month, Russia pressed its plan for return of one million refugees to Syria and called on Western countries to help fund reconstruction efforts, saying doing so would reduce the flow of refugees and migrants to Western Europe. Such developments would not only symbolize sovereignty and legitimacy to the Assad regime, but would also be greeted extremely positively by its neighbors, whose economies and societies are groaning under the weight of their unfortunate guests.

Russia is reported to have offered to help Jordan repatriate , Syrians of some , refugees to the newly conquered provinces by the end of Lebanese Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil, who met with the Russian Foreign Minister on August 20, said that Lebanon, which is hosting more than one million refugees, fully supports Russian efforts to help Syrians return home.

Reports claim that several thousand Syrian refugees in Lebanon have started to return to their homes in Syria voluntarily in recent months. T he UN estimates that over , displaced Syrians returned home in alone, though mostly from within Syria.

One of the cardinal reasons for refugees returning to a still precarious future is a new Syrian law which grants refugees just one year to reclaim their property before the government seizes it.

The other is the Kurdish-controlled area in northeastern Syria , where the military option is less on the table for now, due partly to significant U. Government and Russian air strikes have targeted the area for months, leaving its infrastructure in desperate condition.

Damascus and Moscow are ostensibly concerned with the rebranded al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra—as well as other Salafi-jihadi organizations some of which are said to enjoy Saudi support.

Turkey has until now opposed plans by the Assad regime to restore its control in the region, which contains Turkish military observation points.

The Turkish interest in Idlib is dictated by its interest in retaining its tight control of the neighboring areas of Afrin and Jarablus. It is also worried about the possibility of a new influx of refugees—it already hosts over three million—pursuant to a major offensive.

Recent developments indicate that Russia and Turkey are reaching agreement on a blueprint which will allow the anticipated Syrian offensive, perhaps in a more limited form. Russia has deployed at least a dozen vessels to waters off Syria , ostensibly as part of a major exercise in the Mediterranean, but probably in preparation for the final regime offensive against the rebels.

American officials have condemned the upcoming campaign and have warned Syria not to use chemical weapons in Idlib: their statements seem, however, to signal that if chemical weapons are not used, they will stand by and tut. The Russians have countered warning the U. Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman described Iran in recent days as having slowed down its long-term force deployment in Syria, attributing this change in behavior to continuing Israeli military intervention, as well as to the economic crisis in Iran.

Reports of recent Israeli airstrikes against Iranian, Syrian, and Shia targets in Damascus, on the coast, and on the Syrian-Iraqi border serve to remind, however, that the Iranian influence and presence remains embedded in the new order in Syria. Elsewhere in the Arab Middle East, the grandiose plans of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman MbS of Saudi Arabia—to use controlled economic and social reform to rapidly modernize the Kingdom in his image, while retaining absolute political control he is said to admire the so-called Chinese model —seemed to continue to unravel this summer.

Admirers of the Westernized, reformist prince have received additional evidence of his authoritarian and vindictive streak. In order to generate strong productivity and stable jobs, MENA countries must embrace diversification and private sector led growth. The GCC is now rushing to accelerate unsatisfactory progress in diversification, distressed by the suppression of oil prices.

However, these efforts emphasize the divide between wealthy and poor countries in the MENA region. In its economic forecast this year, the IMF fears slow recovery may portend resurgent civil unrest. Public outrage is already simmering, but the street does not always call for the necessary remedies. In the case of Iraq, Marsin Alshamary, post-doctoral research fellow at The Brookings Institution acknowledges that private sector and civil service reform are in fact extremely unpopular, lacking both public and elite support.

Citizens are aware they would pay for the short-term impacts: public sector salaries and employment opportunities would decline, adding to the already 7 million Iraqis that live in poverty. Meanwhile, elites have an incentive to preserve their networks of political patronage. The reemergence of protests around the region reflects the desperation caused by the pandemic, in which lockdowns were particularly painful for the unemployed and those working in the informal sector.

The lack of prospects for reform reflects the dismal conditions that precluded the uprisings and may prevent a robust recovery. In Iraq, where oil prices comprise 90 percent of government revenue, protesters returned to the streets to demand more government jobs reflecting the widely held notion that the government is a safe source of employment.

In Tunisia, late January protests in poor suburbs around Tunis revealed the economic stress caused by lockdown restrictions, but directed grievances against the political class. A violent police crackdown and ban on protests until mid-February followed against the backdrop of a government reshuffle. The regime resorted to repression because it was ironically too weak to address the suffering of its citizens. However, protests without the authority of trusted political oppositions and movements will disrupt the reform process.

This speaks to the challenge of achieving widespread reform in the region. Regimes fear any change might be coopted by protestors as a weapon against the political elite.

Moreover, the aggravation directed at ruling regimes reflects a deeper rejection of public mismanagement that might manifest into a reemergence of popular protest after pandemic restrictions are loosened. Thousands march in Free Palestine rallies in Sydney and Melbourne. Published: 15 May Published: 16 Apr Denmark strips Syrian refugees of residency permits and says it is safe to go home.

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