On Saturday morning, the armed wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a brutal surprise attack into Israel that included a barrage of over 3,000 missiles and the air, sea, and land penetration of Israeli territory. This was...
In my position as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) regional legal coordinator in the Middle East and North Africa for the last ten years, I’ve had the sad privilege to witness the ugly wars between various States and the Islamic jihadist groups that...
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, is in Russia to discuss military support, including supplying artillery shells and rockets, for Russian operations against Ukraine. In the past, North Korea has supplied the Wagner Group with arms and ammunition. Its support to...
On August 12, 2023, the Russian patrol ship Vasily Bykov intercepted the Turkish-owned, Palau-flagged merchant ship Sukru Okan in the Black Sea between its point of embarkation in Chalkis, Greece and its destination of Izmail, Ukraine. The incident occurred less than...
In October 2017, Ansar al-Sunna, a non-State group, initiated a violent conflict in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. In April 2018, the group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) and, from 2019, IS endorsed its activities. In March 2021, the U.S. government...
This post is drawn from the author’s article-length work, “How Does the Obligation to Investigate Alleged Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Apply in Ad Hoc Military Coalitions?” appearing in The Military Law and the Law of War Review. In recent...
Soon after the outbreak of its international armed conflict with Ukraine in 2014, Russia annexed Crimea. Eight years later, it also annexed territory around the four Ukrainian oblasts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. In each case, the annexations, which...
On July 17, 2023, within 48 hours of the suspension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia and Ukraine made pivotal declarations potentially expanding the scope of their hostilities to a hitherto unprecedented scale. Both States declared their willingness to...
On July 17, 2023, the Black Sea Grain Initiative expired after Russia refused to extend the term of the UN-brokered accord that has “facilitated the export of more than 30 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain to global markets via three Black Sea ports.” Russia...
This post is drawn from the author’s article-length work, “Harvesting Vulnerability: The Challenges of Organ Trafficking in Armed Conflict” appearing in the International Review of the Red Cross. Over 140,000 organ transplants are performed each year worldwide, a...
Introduction On 9 June 2023, media reported that Hungary received eleven Ukrainian Prisoners of War (POWs) from Russia. More than a week later, Reuters reported that three of these persons had been repatriated to Ukraine. The exact circumstances of how the group of...
The Dnieper River is one of the largest transboundary rivers in Europe, originating in Russia, flowing through Belarus and Ukraine before reaching the Black Sea. The river is Ukraine’s primary water source and covers a significant portion of the country. Ukraine has...
