Author: Tom Stevenson

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Transporting the wounded to hospital after the Rawda mosque bombing on the Sinai Peninsula, 24 November 2017 (photo: picture-alliance/AA)

Sisi's self-defeating security plan

A bloody year in Sinai

The Egyptian government has intensified its military campaign in the Sinai peninsula with the aim of finally shutting down a jihadist insurgency linked to IS. Hundreds may have died, but the insurgency continues with no end in sight. By Tom StevensonMore

Mosque attack in northern Sinai: Targeting the peacemakersEgypt's 'anti-terror' campaign: Not all it seemsEgyptian Copts flee the Sinai: "They're slaughtering us like chickens"
Protesters take part in a march on 27 June 2018 denouncing heavy sentences against Hirak activists in Rabat, Morocco. Banner in Arabic reads "Moroccan Justice. Life sentence for the (northern region of) of Rif. A noose for the country" (photo: picture alliance/AP/M. Elshamy)

Moroccoʹs sentencing of Nasser Zefzafi

When civil liberties contract

The sentencing of a prominent opposition activist to jail long-term has shaken critics of Moroccoʹs government. Activists and analysts alike warn of ill omens for the countryʹs political trajectory. By Tom StevensonMore

Moroccoʹs treatment of Hirak El-Shaabi: Fair trial? Fat chanceMorocco and the return of autocracy: Playing with fireMorocco's blighted Rif region: So little to do – so much time
Supporters of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan react during an election rally in Istanbul, Turkey, 17 June 2018 (photo: Reuters/Osman Orsal)

Countdown to the Turkish election

Erdogan beats the nationalist drum

Elected Mayor of Istanbul in 1994, Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged not blame Turkeyʹs problems on "outside powers, outside forces, or foreigners". Years later, with the weight of the presidency and a struggling currency upon him, that pledge is long gone. By Tom StevensonMore

Turkey's snap election: The calculus of alliancesErdogan′s grand plan: Turkey's last elections?The achievements of Erdogan: With me or against me
Archive image: Syrian Kurdish YPG militia member patrols near a Turkish army tank during the construction by Turks of an Ottoman tomb near Esme in Aleppo province, Syria, on 22.02.2015 (photo: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Depo Photos/M. Corban

Turkey′s incursion into Syria

The Kurdish quagmire

The last thing the conflict in Syria needed was more external intrusion and the opening of another front. Turkey′s Afrin offensive has provided both. Once again, the Western powers and Russia have managed to foster a dangerous escalation. Commentary by Tom StevensonMore

Turkish offensive in Syria: The poisoned olive branchErdogan and the Kurdish conflict: A battle for votesTurkey orders detention of 11 top doctors over criticism of Syrian offensive
The Egyptian pound (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Egypt's rising debts

"A sign of crisis"

Egypt's military government is amassing debts to international lenders at record rates. With fiscal austerity measures biting, the country's poor and middle class are struggling to get by. By Tom StevensonMore

Angela Merkel's visit to Egypt: Blinkered realpolitikPress freedom: Egyptian authorities block Qantara.deThe future of the Middle East: How about a Marshall Plan?
House facade pockmarked by bullets in Diyarbakir (photo: Murat Bayram)

Turkey′s campaign against the PKK

Siege tactics

Hundreds dead, whole districts reduced to rubble. That’s the outcome of Turkey′s military campaign in its south-east. For two months now, the predominantly Kurdish region has been under a curfew imposed by the Turkish army. Tom Stevenson reports from DiyarbakirMore

Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan: Erdogan's Kurdish gambitErdogan and the Kurdish conflict: A battle for votesRapprochement between Erdogan and the Turkish army: Short-term tactic or long-term strategy?