Syria (2011 – first combat deaths) The Conflict at a Glance Who (are the main combatants): The Syrian Armed Forces and militia groups loyal to the Bashar Assad regime versus a diverse and disjointed opposition. Some rebel groups, such as the Free Syrian Army, have drawn on defections from the Syrian Armed Forces for strength, while emerging Islamist …
Turkey (2003 — first combat deaths for this phase of the conflict)
Turkey (2003 — first combat deaths for this phase of the conflict) The Conflict at a Glance Who (are the main combatants): The government of Turkey is in conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which contains a militant wing with ties in northern Iraq. The PKK is viewed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and other countries, including …
Yemen (2004 – first combat deaths)
Yemen (2004 – first combat deaths) The Conflict at a Glance Who (are the main combatants): The government of Yemen, with the support of pro-government militias, against Houthi rebels, southern separatists and the Southern Movement, and Ansar al Sharia, associated with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). What (started the conflict): The government was attempting to create a monopoly on …
Israel-Palestine (1948 – first combat deaths)
Israel-Palestine (1948 – first combat deaths) The Conflict at a Glance Who (are the main combatants): The government of Israel, with strong support from the United States, opposes the governing authorities of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO/Fatah), is in charge of the West Bank, while Hamas controls the Gaza Strip. In 2014, Fatah and Hamas formed …
Iraq (2003 – first combat deaths)
Iraq (2003 – first combat deaths) The Conflict at a Glance Who (are the main combatants): The government of Iraq, supported by the Iraqi forces and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), versus Shia and Sunni Muslim armed factions. What (started the conflict): Various factions are fighting for control of the state. Fighting has frequently taken the form …
Egypt (2011 – first combat deaths)
Egypt (2011 – first combat deaths) Conflict at a Glance Who (are the main combatants): Since 2011, Egypt has experienced dramatic social upheaval and shifts in power. Control over the country has vacillated between the military Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), which has acted independently of the President, and its allies, and various Islamic groups, pro-democracy actors, and their …
Is war ever justified? Workshop
In Niagara Falls on October 26 Ploughshares Executive Director John Siebert and Intern Charmila Ireland facilitated a workshop on the question “Is war ever justified?” The event was organized by the Presbytery of Niagara of the Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC) and the Norma Goldsmith Lay School of Theology. More than a dozen people with a wide range of knowledge, …
Canadian Council of Churches calls on Canada to support diplomacy in Syria
Letter (in English, French) on Syria dated September 19, 2013 from The Canadian Council of Churches to John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada Please click on attachment to view document Letter (in English, French) on Crises in Middle East dated May 17, 2013 from The Canadian Council of Churches to …
Canadian arms exports to Egypt: fudging the figures
The current crisis in Egypt is complex and fluid. To date Canada’s response has been measured, but understanding the situation and Canada’s role in Egypt is not improved by misrepresentation of relevant facts. A recent article in The Globe and Mail noted: “Canadian companies have exported small amounts of military equipment to Egypt, worth less than $1-million a year on …
Is a nuclear-free Middle East an achievable goal?
Author Cesar Jaramillo The Ploughshares Monitor Volume 33 Issue 4 For almost 40 years, a nuclear-weapons-free Mideast has been an aspiration of the international community The decision to convene a conference “to be attended by all States of the Middle East, on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction” (2010 …