Updates on the world's countries and borders
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| Free map of world time zones from Wikimedia Commons, up-to-date for the beginning of 2017. See the close-ups below for interactive, before-and-after illustrations of time zone changes during 2016. |
Since January, fighting has raged on for control of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city. Iraqi government forces and allies have secured control of the city's eastern half from the so-called "Islamic State" (IS; formerly ISIS/ISIL), and have continued to gain ground both in the city and in the surrounding region.
In the past month, the so-called "Islamic State" (IS; formerly
ISIS/ISIL) has lost control of Al-Bab, the third-largest city in Aleppo
province, to Turkish-backed rebels, even as the
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) approach the group's capital city of Raqqah in the east. And in
southwestern Syria, rebels have lost ground to both government and IS
forces.
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| Map by Evan Centanni, from blank map by Ssolbergj. License: CC BY-SA |
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| Map by Evan Centanni, from this blank map by Eric Gaba. License: CC BY-SA |
In the past month, Syria's Assad government has continued to consolidate its power after a major victory over the rebels in the city of Aleppo. Meanwhile, forces of the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS/ISIL) have lost ground to Kurdish-led militias even while holding their own against the Syrian Army.
Over the past two months, a battle has raged for control of Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq and the largest controlled by the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS/ISIL). Government and allied forces have made slow but steady progress in the city and nearby areas, even while advancing in western Iraq's Anbar province at the same time. |
Click to enlarge. Map by Louis Martin-Vézian, Evan Centanni, and Djordje Djukic. All rights reserved.
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| Maps by Evan Centanni, from base map by Vascer (CC BY-SA) |
There have been big and important changes to territorial control in Syria in the past month. The Assad government has retaken most of Syria's second biggest city, as well as several other areas of the country, even as the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS/ISIL) has recaptured the historic desert town of Palmyra.
In the past three months, a lot has changed in Libya, including the expulsion of the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS/ISIL) from its last territory in North Africa. Meanwhile, Libya now has three competing governments, and key oil ports have changed hands. |
Base map by Koen Adams of onestopmap.com, with territorial control by Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic.
All rights reserved. |
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| Location of "Czechia" within the European Union Map by David Liuzzo (CC BY-SA) |
The battle is now on for Mosul, the so-called Islamic State's (ISIS/ISIL) biggest city. A grand coalition of Iraqi military, Shiite and Sunni militias, and Kurdistan's Peshmerga forces - with controversial help from the Turkish military - have now entered and mostly surrounded the city. |
| US government map of the Gambia (source) |
Since earlier this month, rebels in Syria have scored an important victory against the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS/ISIL), even while losing ground to the government - and fighting amongst themselves - in other areas.
During the past month, a continued Turkish military incursion into Syria completely cut off the so-called "Islamic State" from the self-proclaimed caliphate's last international border in the region (other than its boundaries with Syrian and Iraqi territory).
The past four months have seen a drastic reduction in "Islamic State" (ISIS/ISIL) control in Libya, with the group now barely holding any territory in the country. Meanwhile, the struggle continues between Libya's two rival governments, as well as other religious hardline militias. |
Base map by Koen Adams of onestopmap.com, with territorial control by Evan Centanni. All rights reserved.
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Basemap by Koen Adams of onestopmap.com, with territorial control by Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic. All rights reserved.
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