Order from Chaos

GEO BARENTS: The MSF SAR teams (Search and Rescue) are rescuing 99 people on a wooden boat in the Libya SAR zone. Women, men and children were on distress since hours as the boat was taking water and was overcrowded. At the end of the rescue, 10 lifeless bodies were discovered in the bottom of the boat. These people, including 5 minors, died of suffocation hours before the rescue, the 16th November 2021. In May 2021, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has relaunched its search and rescue (SAR) activities in the central Mediterranean Sea to save the lives of refugees and migrants attempting the deadly sea crossing from Libya. For this purpose, they are using their own chartered ship, the Geo Barents. Photo by Virginie Nguyen Hoang / Hans Lucas GEO BARENTS : Les equipes SAR de MSF (Search and Rescue) ont sauve 99 personnes sur un bateau en bois dans la zone SAR de la Libye. Des femmes, des hommes et des enfants etaient en detresse depuis pres de 13 heures dans un bateau qui commencait a prendre l eau et en surcharge. A la fin du sauvetage, 10 corps sans vie ont ete decouverts dans le fond du bateau. Ces personnes, dont 5 mineurs, sont mortes par suffocation des heures avant le sauvetage, le 16 novembre 2021, le 16 novembre 2021. En mai 2021, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) a relance ses activites de recherche et sauvetage (SAR) en Mediterranee centrale pour sauver la vie des refugies et des migrants tentant la traversee maritime meurtriere depuis la Libye. A cette fin, ils utilisent leur propre navire affrete, le Geo Barents. Photo de Virginie Nguyen Hoang / Hans Lucas

US migration policy and nonstate groups: Lessons from Libya

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Demonstrators hold a portrait of pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Ky and raise their three finger salute during a rally to mark the second anniversary of the coup in Myanmar outside the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok. Myanmar nationals living in Thailand hold a rally on the occasion of the second anniversary of the coup in Myanmar. Myanmar's military seized power on February 1, 2021, ousting the civilian government and arresting its de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. (Photo by Chaiwat Subprasom / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)No Use Germany.

The civil war in Myanmar: No end in sight

Monday, February 13, 2023

Civilians and White Helmets members inspect a building that collapsed in the city of Harem following the devastating earthquake that struck the Turkish-Syrian border and left more than 5000 people dead.

Northwestern Syria needs humanitarian assistance. Getting it there must be a priority.

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Smoke rises in the sky following clashes in Tripoli, Libya, August 27, 2022. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed

Around the halls: Brookings experts on Biden’s performance in the Middle East

former Taliban fighter wearing new police uniform, Taliban fighters now have new jobs manning checkpoints on the streets and carrying out security patrols in the Kabul city. The Taliban issued new uniforms for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, police force, after months without an official attire. The biggest changes to the gear include shifting the colour to dark brown and replacing the Afghanistan tricoloured republican flag with the Taliban’s white one. Its roll-out started with 20,000 uniforms mainly in the capital Kabul and Kandahar province. Kabul, Afghanistan, July 22, 2022. Photo by Alfred Yaghobzadeh/ABACAPRESS.COM

Afghanistan in 2023: Taliban internal power struggles and militancy

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Friday, February 3, 2023

A demonstrator yells in front of a burning barricade during a protest for the recent killings of police officers by armed gangs, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti January 26, 2023. REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol

Haiti in 2023: Political abyss and vicious gangs

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Friday, February 3, 2023

Fish are seen on a tray before they are smoked for sale in Jamestown, Accra, Ghana November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

The United States must act to stop illegal fishing in 2023

Friday, February 3, 2023

In preparation for an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launch, 1st Lt. Kimberly Erskine, Missile Combat Crew commander from Malmstrom Air Force Base, practices procedures at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, U.S., March 19, 2015. Picture taken March 19, 2015. To Match Special Report USA-NUCLEAR/ICBM U.S. Air Force/Michael Peterson/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.

Arms control needs a shot in the arm

Friday, February 3, 2023

A man casts his vote at a polling station during parliamentary and local elections, in Casablanca, Morocco September 8, 2021. REUTERS/Abdelhak Balhaki

The end of the Moroccan “model”: How Islamists lost despite winning

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Somali policemen prepare to take their positions near the mayor's office following a blast in Mogadishu, Somalia January 22, 2023. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

Somalia’s challenges in 2023

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Friday, January 27, 2023

A Houthi supporter with his face painted green and white attends a rally to mark the Prophet Muhammad's birthday in Sanaa, Yemen October 18, 2021. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

The Houthis after the Yemeni cease-fire

Friday, January 27, 2023

13 February 2019, Syria, Aleppo: Fighters of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militant group hold their weapons at the front lines of the armed opposition overlooking the Syrian government-held city of Aleppo. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that Russia will continue to make every possible effort to assist Syria in liberating the country from lawlessness committed by armed groups. Photo: Anas Alkharboutli/dpa

Syria’s dissolving line between state and nonstate actors

Steven Heydemann

Friday, January 27, 2023

A sign directs voters to a polling location, during the midterm runoff elections in Columbus, Georgia, U.S., December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Cheney Orr

The risk of election violence in the United States in 2024

Daniel L. Byman

Friday, January 27, 2023

One of the Libyan army guards seen during the celebration in Misrata. Libyan security forces affiliated with Tripoli-based interim Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah take part in a parade marking the 6th anniversary of the liberation of Sirte from the Islamic State (IS) group, in the northwestern city of Misrata. (Photo by Islam Alatrash / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)No Use Germany.

Libya’s hybrid armed groups dilemma

Stephanie T. Williams

Friday, January 27, 2023

Somali policemen gather near the wreckage of a car at the scene of an explosion following an attack in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, March 9, 2016. Islamist group al Shabaab said it fought off an attack on one of its bases in southern Somalia early on Wednesday that was launched by foreign commandos who flew in on two helicopters, leaving one al Shabaab fighter dead in the gun battle. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

Nonstate armed actors in 2023: Persistence amid geopolitical shuffles

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Friday, January 27, 2023