As violence and instability rise, African countries must reaffirm their commitment to protecting children and support DDR initiatives Roughly 21 000 children have been recruited as soldiers by government forces and armed groups across Africa in the past five years. In 2020, around 337 million children lived within 50 km of active conflicts worldwid

For several years, Israel has considered Iran one of its main strategic threats, due to Iranian support for Shiite militias in Syria, Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East. The collapse of the Syrian regime, along with the withdrawal of some of Assad’s traditional military support capabilities, weakens Iran’s position in the region Israel

In the context of the fall of the Assad regime and the ongoing geopolitical recompositions, Turkey is intensifying its operations in northeastern Syria. These operations rely on the use of local proxies (Syrian rebel groups supported by Ankara) and aim to create a safe defensive zone to limit the influence of Kurdish groups in the region. Since the

Pro-Iranian militias, particularly those that are part of the Hashd al-Shaabi, played a crucial role in the reoccupation of Iraqi territories that fell under the control of the Islamic State between 2014 and 2018. Their effectiveness in these operations consolidated their status as military and political actors in Iraq, giving them legitimacy among

This strategy also includes strengthening their relations with the Iraqi government, which remains divided on the issue of the militias’ position within the Iraqi state. The willingness and steps to secure the border could allow the militias to prove their usefulness in the fight against regional threats, including residues of the Islamic State a