(VOVworld) – The Middle East continued to be a world hotspot in 2015. It has become a fierce battlefield, creating the worst migrant crisis in world history and igniting a global extremist Jihadist movement.
International media have described the political and social situation in the Middle East in 2015 as violent and unstable. Violence and chaos have nurtured terrorism and the rise of the Islamic State, which has expanded into Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and several European countries, threatening global security.
Disturbances
Syria has been suffering the most in the Middle East. Human Rights International reports that Syria’s civil war has killed 250,000 people and caused millions to flee their homes over the last 5 years. Syria in 2015 was a battlefield between IS and world powers like the US and Russia. The war against IS has not had much success but has had huge consequences.
Russia’s intervention in Syria began on September 30, which led to a number of incidents that shocked the Middle East and the world. These included the IS’s shooting down of a Russian plane over Egypt’s Sinai peninsula and Turkey’s downing of a Russian fighter jet, which led to a crisis in relations between Russia and Turkey. France, a member of the US-led coalition against IS, suffered a serious terrorist attack in Paris, which killed 129 people and injured more than 350. European intervention in the Middle East has produced an unprecedented migration into Europe.
Power struggles following the Arab Spring continue to destabilize Libya as evidenced by the coexistence of 2 governments and parliaments in Libya. Despite international reconciliation efforts, Libya’s factions have failed to reach a peace agreement. Yemen’s civil war claimed more than 28,000 lives, mostly civilians, in 2015. The civil war has become a tense confrontation between Shiite and Sunni forces in the Middle East. The Israel-Palestine peace process has been stagnant. Israel does not recognize an independent Palestinian state although it has been recognized by the international community. Palestinian frustration has sparked violence. Recent clashes between the Israeli army and Palestinians killed dozens of people, dashing hopes for an early resumption of peace talks.
Little chance of stability
The only ray of hope for stability in the Middle East was an historic nuclear agreement between the P5+1 and Iran, defusing the decades-long conflict between the US-led West and Iran. Otherwise, 2015 has been a year of instability in the Middle East and regional peace appears unlikely in the near future.