Daily Alert Archives

Syrian Tribes Show Rapid Population Growth

(Ha'aretz) Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi - A traditionally pro-natalist policy on the part of the Syrian government has meant that the tribally dominated peripheries of Syria in particular have witnessed rapid population growth, especially among the armed tribes of Deir ez Zor, which contains most of Syria's dwindling oil reserves. With Assad gone, these tribes will surely demand their fair share of oil revenues. In addition, the suburban slums of Syria's major cities are teeming with hundreds of thousands of displaced migrants, owing to climate change and severe water shortages, with 500,000 people displaced from areas inhabited by the Inezi tribe in eastern Syria. All this increases the possibility that the country will fall apart once Assad goes. For Israel, chaos is ultimately a good thing. It means that the Islamists and other hostile forces will be too distracted by infighting to focus any attention on fighting Israel. The writer, a student at Oxford University, is an adjunct Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
2012-02-17 00:00:00
Full Article