February 26 – Syria
The Syrian government, aided by Russia, has intensified in the last several days relentless bombing on rebel-controlled East Ghouta, a suburb outside the capital, Damascus with an estimated population of 400,000. Some areas in East Ghouta have been under siege since 2013, but the last two weeks have been particularly difficult, with the military using barrel bombs filled with explosives and shrapnel and accused of targeting also civilians and civilian structures, such as hospitals. It is estimated that since mid-February about 700 people have been killed and over 3,000 injured. People cannot leave the area and have no access to food, basic medicines, or medical treatment.[1] (February 27): Russia, Syria’s ally, orders a daily few-hour-humanitarian cessation of fighting to assure safe passage for humanitarian aid and civilians who want to leave the besieged area. However, the evacuation is interrupted by resumed shelling. The Syrian government and the rebels blame each other over the corridor’s closure. The humanitarian aid convoy has to leave before unloading.[2]
Why is there war in Syria?
April 7 – Syria
The Syrian government is accused of using toxic chemicals during the bombing of Douma city on the outskirts of Damascus. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 70 people died and another 500 that checked in at medical facilities exhibited poisoning symptoms consistent with exposure to toxic chemicals, such as chlorine and sarin.[3] Any use of chemical weapons to cause harm is illegal under international law. The Syrian government and Syria’s ally Russia deny involvement and accuse rebel groups of fabricating the attack to hinder the army’s advances and provoke international military intervention.[4]
(April 14): In response to the chemical attacks, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom carry out a series of military strikes against a scientific research center in Damascus, a chemical weapons storage facility west of Homs, and another storage site and command post in Syria. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, condemns the airstrikes and calls for an emergency session of the UN Security Council to debate the military action.[5]
April 15 – Israel / Palestinian Territories
Israel destroys another unfinished tunnel dug by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, the longest and the deepest yet. It stretched from the city of Jabaliya in northern Gaza into Israel’s territory around the city of Nahal Oz, connecting with other tunnels, which are used to launch attacks. Israel has been using special equipment to detect such tunnels. It is also building a hi-tech barrier above and below ground along its border with Gaza that will stop new tunnels from being built.[6]
In pictures: Israel at 70 – seven major moments
May 8 – Iran
United States President Donald Trump announces that he will withdraw the U.S. from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, one of the most important foreign policy achievements of his predecessor President Barack Obama. He says the agreement was flawed. The United States will now re-impose the sanctions on Iran from before the deal and is considering new penalties. European companies will also have to stop their operations in Iran, or they will face American sanctions. The sanctions on oil will require European and Asian countries to reduce their imports from Iran. Both U.S. Western allies and Iran accuse the U.S. of violating the accord and not honoring international treaties.[7]
The Iran nuclear deal took over two years to negotiate and was signed between Iran and so called P5+1, the UN Security Council’s five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) plus Germany. Under the accord, Iran agreed to limit its sensitive nuclear activities and allow in international inspectors in return for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions.
(May 11): France, Britain and Germany say they will work with Iran to salvage the Iran nuclear agreement. They also condemn the U.S. threat to re-impose sanctions on European companies that have engaged in multi-billion dollar deals with Iran since the agreement. They say they will work to block these measures. They also warn that discarding the agreement will lead to rising oil prices and fuel an arms race in the Middle East.[8]
Key details on the Iran nuclear deal
May 15 – Palestinian Territories / Israel
Israeli soldiers open fire at tens of thousands of Palestinians who gathered alongside Israel’s border fence with the Gaza Strip to protest the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. The death toll from May 14 is 61 people and 2,700 injured, including women and children, half of whom were killed by live ammunition. No Israeli soldiers were killed or wounded. The embassy opening coincides with Israel’s independence day, but for the Palestinians this day marks mass displacement after Israel’s creation. They have been demonstrating for the last seven weeks as part of a protest called the Great March of Return. The international community widely condemns Israel for its excessive use of force and the scale of the killings. Israel and the United States, however, put blame on Hamas.[9]
The issue of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem
A two-state solution and alternatives
July 8 – Turkey
Right before the swear-in ceremony of Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyin Erdogan, for another term in office, more than 18,600 public employees are dismissed by decree. This is the latest purge triggered by a failed coup in Turkey in 2016. Among the dismissed are thousands of police officers, military, judiciary, teachers, and academics. Three newspapers, one TV channel and 12 associations are also closed.[10] Since the coup attempt, Turkey has been under an emergency rule and the government has fired more than 125,000 people. Under last year’s controversial constitutional changes, the post of prime minister has been abolished and more powers have been given to the president.
Who has been affected by Turkey’s crackdown since 2016
July 9 – Israel / Palestinian Territories
In response to continued arson attacks from the Gaza Strip into the Israeli territory, Israel closes Kerem Shalom, Gaza’s main crossing for movement of goods in and out of the Strip. Only humanitarian aid will now be allowed. The arson attacks began in April this year as a protest by the Palestinians against keeping the Palestinian refugees from returning to their ancestral lands within Israel and against the blockade of the Gaza Strip. The arson attacks have caused hundreds of fires to forests and fields in Israel.
Gisha, an Israeli human rights organization, condemns Israel’s move as a collective punishment on the people in Gaza whose “humanitarian conditions are already deplorable, even dangerous. According to the organization, the harm inflicted on farmers in the south of Israel is both serious and lamentable, but harming Gaza’s residents is not going to fix it.”[11]
Gaza crossings’ operations status: May 2018 from OCHA
Hamas, which controls Gaza, is accused of inciting the violence at the Israeli border fence for months encouraging rockets attacks and flying flaming kites into Israel that target civilians and property. In response, the United States proposed an amendment to the United Nations resolution on Protecting Palestinian Civilians adopted on June 13 that holds Hamas responsible for recent violence. Although the amendment did not pass, 59 countries voted for it (78 against and 26 abstained), recognizing Hamas’s role in the skirmishes.[12]
July 19 – Israel
Israel’s parliament adopts the controversial Nations-State law (officially called Basic Law: Israel as the Nations-State of the Jewish People) that defines Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish People. It makes Hebrew the state’s language effectively striping Arabic of its designation as an official language alongside Hebrew.[13] The law angers Israel’s Arab minority who says that the law further downgrades their status in the country. Israel’s minority (mostly Arab) constitutes more than 25 percent of its population.[14] The law has been strongly criticized around the world by civil rights groups, but also by some Jewish organizations and diasporas.
August 6 – Iran
The United States President Donald Trump signs an executive order reimposing some of sanctions on Iran, three months after he pulled the U.S. from the seven-party Iran nuclear deal. Trump accuses Iran of malign activities, such as its ballistic missile program and support for terrorism.[15] The sanctions target transactions related to the US banknotes and the Iranian rial, Iran’s trade in gold and other precious metals, graphite, aluminum, steel, coal and software used in industrial processes, as well as the automotive sector. A second set of sanctions, including against Iran’s oil industry and shipping and shipbuilding sectors, will come into effect in November of this year. The Trump Administration puts pressure on other countries and warns that anyone doing business with Iran will not be able to do business with the United States.[16] This complicates relations for other countries who have invested in Iranian businesses.
August 12 – Iran
The leaders of five states surrounding the Caspian Sea – Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkmenistan – sign the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea after more than 20 years of disputes and negotiations on demarcation of the sea. The Caspian Sea is the largest inland water of body in the world without outflows and is located between Europe and Asia. It has vast oil and gas reserves, as well as a wealth of fish, including different species of sturgeon which is highly prized for its caviar.
The new deal gives the Caspian Sea a “special legal status” meaning it is not classified as a sea or a lake. Its surface will be in common usage, giving freedom of access for all five states that border it beyond territorial waters. The seabed, however, with its resources, will be divided up. The convention also sets national quotas for fishing and includes a clause that does not allow non-Caspian countries to deploy military forces on the Caspian Sea.[17]
The Caspian: Sea or Lake?
August 15 – Israel / Palestinian Territories
Israel reopens the Kerem Shalom border crossing into the Gaza Strip after weeks allowing only humanitarian aid. Israel also extends the fishing zone for the Palestinians. The opening of the crossing point is a result of a truce between Israel and Hamas mediated by Egypt and the United Nations envoy. The closure was a result of Palestinians cross border arson attacks, but criticized by human rights organizations as an illegal collective punishment. The Kerem Shalom crossing is the main lifeline for people living in Gaza, and the territory’s economy is almost entirely dependent on it.[18]
August 28 – Yemen
A detailed report for the United Nations Human Rights Council published by experts who carried out a comprehensive examination of the human rights situation in civil war-torn Yemen concludes that all sides to the conflict—Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, seven other Arab states in their coalition, and government and rebel forces in Yemen—may have committed war crimes. The report notes that coalition air strikes have caused most direct civilian casualties, hitting residential areas, markets, funerals, weddings, detention facilities, civilian boats, and even medical facilities. From March 2015 to June 2018, at least 6,475 civilians have been killed and 10,231 injured in the conflict. All sides are also accused of arbitrary detentions, torture, enforced disappearances, and recruiting children.[19]
Full report
October 2 – Saudi Arabia / Turkey
According to Turkish officials, Saudi Arabian journalist who worked for the Washington Post, Jamal Khashoggi, was killed and his body dismembered after he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. They also say his killing was part of a premeditated plan. Jamal Khashoggi was a vocal critic of the Saudi government, calling for democracy, human rights, and freedom of speech in Arab countries. After denying his murder at first, the Saudi authorities acknowledge Khashoggi was killed by a group of rogue operators. His body has not been found.[20] Turkish security sources say the operation was run by a top aide to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who is regarded as the country’s de facto ruler.[21]
Video (04:11) from BBC: Dark disappearances: How Saudi critics keep going missing
Jamal Khashoggi’s last column for The Washington Post before his disappearance: “What the Arab world needs most is free expression”
Democracy in the Arab world from the Freedom House
October 5 – Iraq
Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege are jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict”.[22] Denis Mukwege is a physician who devoted his practice to helping the victims of sexual violence committed in the context of a long-lasting civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He has repeatedly condemned impunity for mass rape and criticized the Congolese government and other countries for not doing enough to stop the use of sexual violence against women as a strategy and weapon of war. Nadia Murad is a member of the Yazidi minority in Iraq who was abducted by the terrorist Islamic State (IS) and held as sex slave. After escaping, she established an organization opposing violence against women and committed to helping victims of mass atrocities.[23]
More about the Nobel Peace Prizes
November 4 – Bahrain
The Bahraini Court sentences opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman to life in prison finding him guilty of spying for Qatar. Bahrain severed its relations with Qatar in 2017. Human rights group, Amnesty International, calls the verdict a travesty of justice that demonstrates the Bahraini authorities’ relentless and unlawful efforts to silence any form of dissent.[24] Ali Salman led the now outlawed Al-Wefaq movement, which called for reforms including a constitutional monarchy and elected prime minister. The movement was dissolved in 2016.[25] Amnesty also calls on the international community to stop ignoring the continued crackdown on dissent in Bahrain because of its strategic location and value as a defense and security hub.[26]
November 6 – Iraq
The Human Rights Office of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) release a report documenting a discovery of 202 mass graves with more than 12,000 victims in the areas of Iraq that fell under the occupation of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) between June 2014 and December 2017. The graves were found in the north and western governorates of Nineveh, Kirkuk, Salahuddin and Anbar. The ISIL militants were known for brutal rule and widespread violence that may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possibly genocide under international criminal law.[27] Iraqi forces captured ISIL last stronghold in Iraq in November 2017 although pockets of resistance still exist and the group controls some parts of the deserts of western Iraq.[28]
Full UNAMI/OHCHR Report
December 3 – Qatar
Qatar announces it will leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) effective January 2, 2019 after 57 years as a member. The OPEC cartel, whose mission is to coordinate and unify the oil production and stabilize oil markets, was founded in 1960 and will have now 14 country-members. Qatar states the reason for the departure is to focus on gas production (Qatar is the world’s second largest exporter of liquefied natural gas[29]); however, it is also seen that its decision is in response to the ongoing boycott of Qatar by Saudi Arabia (OPEC’s de facto leader), United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt.[30]
Qatar crisis explained
December 13 –Yemen
The warring parties in Yemen agree to a United Nations-brokered ceasefire in the country’s main port city of Hudaydah during talks in Sweden. The Houthi rebels and the Yemeni government alliance agreed to withdraw their forces from Hudaydah, a lifeline for most of the country. These forces will be replaced by local forces, while the UN would monitor the Red Sea port, and would help distribute aid to civilians. However, a truce for the rest of the country, including the capital Sanaa, controlled by the Houthis has yet to be agreed. The brutal four-year-war has killed about 6,660 civilians and injured 10,560. More than 22.2 million of Yemenis, or 75 percent of the country’s population, are in need of humanitarian aid.[31]
December 14 – Saudi Arabia / Yemen
The United States Senate votes to withdraw US military aid for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen and blames the kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman for the gruesome murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi after CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed senators on intelligence surrounding the killing. The Senators send a message that they value the strategic relation with Saudi Arabia, but they disapprove of Crown Prince’s leadership and humanitarian disaster caused by the war in Yemen. However, the Trump Administration says it will veto the bill, emphasizing the importance of the economic ties with Saudi Arabia.[32]
Senators speaking about evidence of Khashoggi’s killing
Khashoggi murder: What’s next for Mohammed bin Salman?