Internal Conflict Regions in the Middle East: Iraq & Syria

Since the 2011 U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, sectarian divisions have widened, fuelling a revival of a Sunni Muslim insurgent challenge to Iraq’s stability. Iraq’s Sunni Arab Muslims resent Shiite political domination and perceived discrimination by the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Iraq’s Kurds are embroiled in separate political disputes with the Baghdad government over territorial, political, and economic issues, particularly their intent to separately export large volumes of oil produced in the Kurdish region. Fighting also continues across Syria, pitting government forces and their foreign allies against a range of anti-government insurgents, some of whom also are fighting amongst themselves. The ongoing conflict that began in March 2011 in Syria has created one of the most pressing humanitarian crises in the world. Three years later, as of early March 2014, an estimated 9.3 million people inside Syria, nearly half the population, have been affected by the conflict. This book discusses the political, and internal conflicts of both Iraq and Syria. It provides information on the politics, governance, and human rights in Iraq; an overview of armed conflict in Syria, as well as the United States response; and an overview of the humanitarian response in Syria as well.