WRITTEN BY KALAHAN DENG Why is Russia bombing Syria? Russia says the strikes are to defeat Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil). But most of their first strikes have been against non-Isil groups who are opposed to President Assad’s regime. Why would Russia bomb non-Isil groups? Russia’s spokespeople are sometimes vague – referring to Isil and terrorists in ...

A militant cell suspected of having links to Islamic State has been eliminated in southern Russia, the National Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAC) reports. The group was planning at least three terror attacks in the region, including one on a Muslim Holiday. In a special operation in the Republic of Ingushetia on Friday, Russia’s security forces killed six militants in the city ...

‘Schizophrenics from America are sharpening nuclear weapons for Moscow,’ says Russian government-run TV network The Russian government has launched a nationwide civil defence training exercise to ensure the country is properly prepared in the event of a nuclear, chemical and biological attack from the West. Amid growing international tensions, particulary over Russia’s conduct in Syria, the Defence Ministry-run Zvezda TV network announced last week: “Schizophrenics from ...

BY KALAHAN DENG Syrian and Russian warplanes launched a ferocious assault against rebel-held Aleppo on Friday, burying any hopes that a U.S.-backed cease-fire could be salvaged and calling into question whether the deal would ever have worked. Waves upon waves of planes relentlessly struck neighborhoods in the rebel-held east of the city on the first day of a new offensive ...

WRITTEN BY KALAHAN DENG When confusion and misinformation get together in the dark, paranoia is born. Fears of war, violence, and oppression fester and grow in the minds of the populace pushing everything but a misguided assurance of certain doom into the shadows. Out of this cramped and huddled mindset we get the bastardized half-brother of critical thinking: conspiracy theories. ...

Exclusive to The Middle East Online Edited by Nelly Tawil Russia’s Defence Ministry has accused an American destroyer of coming dangerously close to a Russian frigate in the Mediterranean Sea, calling the incident a “gross violation” of international agreements. “On June 17, in the east of the Mediterranean Sea, the American destroyer USS Gravely came dangerously close to a Russian ...

Exclusive to The Middle East Online Edited by Nelly Tawil US Secretary of State, John Kerry, has warned the Syrian regime and its main military backer Russia, to respect the “frayed” ceasefire and said that its “patience was not infinite” amid mounting death tolls. The US Secretary of State addressed the Oslo Forum on conflict resolution and mediation, he stated ...

Exclusive to The Middle East Online Edited by Nelly Tawil Russia could steamroll NATO forces in just 60 hours, a leading US defence official has warned amid rising tensions with the west. The worrying claim comes as Russia deploys troops westward in association with its ongoing standoff with NATO. Michael Carpenter, the US Deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, ...

Edited by Nelly Tawil The Syrian army has declared a temporary lull in fighting in various western areas of the country and attempts to include Aleppo, which recently has been the focus of all violence, in those terms according to Russia. The escalation of violence in Aleppo was the main cause of the failed cessation of hostilities between Syria and ...

Edited by Nelly Tawil Russian President Vladimir Putin travelled to Siberia this week to witness the inaugural launch from the Vsotchny cosmodrome, a brand new launch pad that had been undergoing construction for four years. The launch was set to take place on Wednesday at the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, where the countdown began at 11:01 a.m. local time, yet ...