Middle East

U.S. military vehicles drive on a road in the town of Tal Tamr on Sunday after pulling out of a base in northern Syria. Defense Secretary Mark Esper says some troops may remain in northeast Syria to secure oil fields.

Some U.S. Troops May Remain In Northeast Syria To Protect Oil Fields

4:15pm October 21, 2019

by Laurel Wamsley

Other U.S. troops will pivot to fighting ISIS in Iraq rather than immediately heading home. Some 300,000 people have reportedly been displaced since Turkey's offensive began.

World News

5-Day Truce Between Turkish And Kurdish Forces Expires Tuesday

11:14am October 21, 2019

by Jane Arraf

Kurdish-Syrian fighters say they have withdrawn from a key border city as part of a U.S. brokered deal with Turkish forces. But both Turkey and the Kurds accuse the other of breaking the ceasefire.

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World News

Kurds Leave Northern Syria As Truce With Turkey Is Set To Expire

7:27am October 21, 2019

NPR's Noel King talks to Mona Yacoubian, formerly with the State Department and now with the U.S. Institute of Peace, about the pause in hostilities in northern Syria.

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World News

Lebanon Is Crippled By Massive Anti-Government Protests

5:45am October 21, 2019

by Daniel Estrin

In Lebanon, cabinet members on Monday are expected to approve changes — including halving ministers' wages — in a bid to ease an economic crisis and defuse protests.

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News Brief: Northern Syria Incursion, Impeachment Inquiry, Opioid Trial

5:43am October 21, 2019

The five-day truce between Turkish and Kurdish forces expires Tuesday. The House hears from more witnesses in the impeachment probe. And, a landmark federal opioid trial begins Monday in Cleveland.

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'Sisters In Arms' Celebrates Women Kurdish Fighters In Anti-ISIS Fight

5:09pm October 20, 2019

by Eleanor Beardsley

A new movie in France fictionalizes the Kurdish women's brigades and the role they played in helping to defeat ISIS.

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U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper (center), is greeted by U.S. military personnel upon arriving in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sunday.

Defense Secretary Esper Arrives In Afghanistan To Devise A Way Forward In 18-Year War

11:13am October 20, 2019

by Samantha Raphelson

His visit to restart peace talks with the Taliban comes amid debate about the role of U.S. troops in the region after Trump quickly began withdrawing forces from northeastern Syria earlier this month.

World News

Syria Update

8:04am October 20, 2019

The pullback of U.S. troops in northern Syria has left the Kurds there vulnerable. NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to The Wall Street Journal's Dion Nissenbaum about what he's seeing in the region.

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World News

An Introduction To The Kurds

7:59am October 20, 2019

by Daniel Estrin

Turkey's invasion of northern Syria following the U.S. abandonment of their Kurdish allies there has put the spotlight on an ethnic group that has long sought autonomy.

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In this photo taken Thursday, flames and smoke billow from a fire on a target in Ras al-Ayn, Syria. This is the result of shelling by Turkish forces, the same day Turkey and the U.S. were negotiating a cease-fire agreement.

Kurdish General Slams U.S.-Syria Policy; Gen. Petraeus Calls Withdrawal 'A Betrayal'

5:20pm October 19, 2019

Two days into a cease-fire, clashes continue along Syria's northern border. Petraeus, who once commanded U.S. forces in the region, told NPR that withdrawing U.S. troops is unfair to Kurdish allies.

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