Iraq and Syria Contested Borders

• What is the main issue with the state borders in the Middle East?

  They do not align with the region's ethnic map
• What was the root cause of many conflicts in Iraq and Syria?

  The Sykes-Picot line
• Who drew the Sykes-Picot line and when?

  Great Britain and France in 1916
• How many Kurds are distributed between Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria?

  25 million
• What populations were divided by the Sykes-Picot Agreement?

  Large Sunni and Shia Muslim populations
• What has characterized the 21st century in the Middle East?

  Ongoing conflict due to nation-state instability
• Which terrorist organizations have shown little respect for borders or human rights?

  Daesh (IS) and al-Qaeda
• What opportunity did Daesh exploit in Iraq?

  The power vacuum created by troop withdrawal
• When did Daesh declare its caliphate?

  In 2014
• What was Daesh's goal in its jihad?

  To annihilate minority communities
• Which minority communities were targeted by Daesh?

  Christian Assyrians, Kurds, Shabaka, Turkmens, Yazidis
• Who were the victims in Syria targeted by Daesh?

  Ismailis and Alawis
• What has been the response to Daesh since 2014?

  An international coalition has pushed back
• How are Daesh's activities characterized legally?

  As war crimes and genocide
• By 2019, what was the status of the ISIS fighters?

  Reduced to a few pockets in desert areas
• What was the cost of the conflict against ISIS by 2019?

  At least 200,000 deaths on all sides