Middle East

World News

Turkey Sees Influx Of Refugees Fleeing ISIS

8:31pm September 21, 2014

Thousands of terrified Kurds are fleeing ISIS and seeking refuge in Turkey. Some 100,000 people have moved across the border in the last two days. NPR's Arun Rath speaks to correspondent Deb Amos.

Queue Listen Now

Libya Still Hampered By Violence And Political Unrest

8:31pm September 21, 2014

Along with the violence, the political landscape is also chaotic in Libya. Mary Fitzgerald from The Irish Times speaks with NPR's Arun Rath about the militias and Libya's embattled parliament.

Queue Listen Now

A Syrian family waits near the Turkish-Syrian border after entering Turkey near the town of Sanliurfa Sunday. An estimated 70,000 Syrian Kurds have fled the extremist group the Islamic State this weekend.

World News

Thousands Of Refugees Flee Syria In Chaotic Scene At Turkey's Border

4:53pm September 21, 2014

by Bill Chappell

While a U.N. agency reported about 70,000 refugees this weekend, a Turkish official says 100,000 Syrians have entered Turkey in the past week. Fighters from ISIS are closing in on the border.

World News

Syrian Refugees Flood Turkish Border

11:15am September 21, 2014

Tens of thousands of Syrian refugees are fleeing fighting between Kurdish forces and the Islamic State militants. NPR's Wade Goodwyn speaks to correspondent Deb Amos from the border about the crisis.

Queue Listen Now

World News

Dozens Of ISIS Hostages Freed And Sent To Turkey

2:28am September 21, 2014

The militant group calling itself the Islamic State released 49 hostages, most of them Turkish. NPR's Arun Rath talks to NPR Middle East Correspondent Deborah Amos about what the release signals.

Queue Listen Now

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, center, poses with dozens of freed Turkish hostages at the Esenboga Airport in Ankara Saturday. The group was held by militants in northern Iraq for more than three months.

World News

Dozens Of Turkish Hostages Freed, As ISIS Advances In Syria

2:14pm September 20, 2014

by Bill Chappell

The hostages included diplomats, children and others seized along with Turkey's consulate in Mosul in June. As it celebrates their return, Turkey also receives thousands of Kurds fleeing ISIS.

Analyst: U.S. Needs To 'Deconflict' Syria To Defeat ISIS

11:16am September 20, 2014

How does the U.S. destroy the self-declared Islamic State without aiding the Syrian regime? NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Christopher Harmer of the Institute for the Study of War about options.

Queue Listen Now

Iran Nuclear Talks Have A Different Tone This Time Around

6:08pm September 19, 2014

by Peter Kenyon

In New York on Friday, Iran and six world powers sat down for the latest talks aimed at limiting Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Queue Listen Now

"Happy We Are from Tehran," a video remake of Pharrell Williams' song "Happy" that went viral earlier this year.

Iran's 'Happy' Dancers Receive Suspended Sentences

1:06pm September 19, 2014

by Scott Neuman

Seven young Iranians were arrested in May for producing their own version of the Pharrell Williams song "Happy." Iranian authorities said the video, which went viral, offended public morals.

A remote camera screen grab provided by the French army shows two Rafale jet fighters flying over Iraq on Friday. French President Francois Hollande announced that the fighters had carried out their first airstrikes in northern Iraq.

French Jets Conduct First Airstrikes Against ISIS In Iraq

9:36am September 19, 2014

by Scott Neuman

President Francois Hollande says the Rafale fighters "entirely destroyed" a logistics depot. His office said more air operations against Islamic State militants would be conducted in coming days.