ACLED Regional Overview – Middle East (8-21 May 2021)
Format
In the last two weeks in the Middle East, an 11-day military conflict broke out between Israel and Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip, while Arabs and Jews engaged in political violence inside Israel and throughout the occupied West Bank. Across the Middle East, hundreds of demonstrations were held in solidarity with Palestine. Meanwhile, airstrikes were carried out by Russia and Israel in Syria, while the Syrian Democratic Forces (QSD) launched a large-scale security operation against the Islamic State (IS) in the Deir-ez-Zor countryside. In Iraq, riots broke out following the killing of a prominent activist in Kerbala. In Yemen, the overall level of political violence continued to decrease as fighting subsided in Marib and Taizz governorates, although the Houthi stronghold of Sadah was targeted by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes. Elsewhere, fighting between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Turkish military forces intensified inside Turkey and in northern Iraq. Lastly, Syrians in Lebanon voting in the Syrian presidential election were targeted by angry Lebanese rioters over their support for President Bashar Assad.