Five years ago a group calling itself the Islamic State or Daesh emerged across eastern Syria and northwestern Iraq. Its fighters captured city after city, including Mosul, Iraq’s second largest, proclaiming a so-called caliphate on the 30th of June 2014.

At the height of its power, Daesh controlled more than 88 thousand square kilometers between Syria and Iraq. That's an area larger than Belgium and the Netherlands combined. With more than 40,000 fighters from 100 countries, the group carried out attacks in Iraq, Syria and 29 other countries. It generated billions of dollars to finance its operations; most of it coming from oil, taxation, robbery and kidnapping.

US President Donald Trump says Daesh or ISIS has now been ""obliterated"". Despite its territorial losses in Syria and Iraq, has the group been 100 % defeated, as the American President claims -- or is the fight still far from over?

Despite the assertions made in Washington by the President and his Republican colleagues, the reality on the ground paints a different picture. Many of Daesh's top leaders are still alive and it continues to carry out attacks across the world. Despite a drop in the number of successful attacks, the number of attempts has remained steady.

According to the UN there are still between 14,000 and 18,000 Daesh fighters in Iraq and Syria, many of them in sleeper cells. Thousands are said to have returned to their home countries across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.

So is the fight against Daesh really over? And what will the next phase of this battle be?

Iraq's Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, from Baghdad's Joint Command operations, gives us his take.

Daesh (ISIS) control Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, for nearly three years. Millions of people lived under Daesh's oppressive rule. So what was life like there? Two Mosul residents share part of their experience living under Daesh's self-declared 'caliphate'.

Is the U.S. violating its own domestic laws and international humanitarian law by turning away asylum seekers at its southern border? Ghida Fakhry asks President of Refugees International, Eric Schwartz, on this week's Bigger Than Five. http://trt.world/k7qw

The number of people forcibly displaced from their homes is at a record high. 37,000 people were forced to flee their homes every day in 2018, according to the UNHCR. Where do these refugees go?

#Refugees #Developing Nations #UNHCR #RefugeeWeek #Conflict #War #Persecution

"The number of forcibly displaced people worldwide increased by more than 2 million in 2018 reaching a record 70.8 million, according to the UNHCR. The world took notice of the plight of refugees after Syrians began streaming into Europe in 2015. But while refugees are no longer appearing in the headlines, their plight endures. Are the global powers taking notice? What can they do to lessen the load on developing nations?

Guests:

Eric Schwartz- President of Refugees International and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration

Chris Boian- Spokesperson for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency

Samuel Witten- Acting Asst. Secretary of State, Population Refugees & Migration (2007-2009) and former State Department deputy Legal Advisor

#Refugees #Developing Nations #UNHCR #RefugeeWeek #Conflict #War #Persecution #Syria #Rohingya #Central America #Immigration #Myanmar #Iraq #Afghanistan

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled violence and persecution in Myanmar have sought refuge in Bangladesh. Bigger Than Five goes inside the Katupalong camp, where refugees continue to call for support from the U.S. and China.

What happens if the United Kingdom exits the EU without an agreement? Bigger Than Five looks at the economic risks of a no-deal Brexit on the UK and the European Union. Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5Elcmkuqyc

Will Brexit have any consequences for other Europeans? 3 Europeans and 1 Brit residing in Berlin share their thoughts on Brexit, the European Union, and the future of the UK-EU relations.

Should there be a second referendum on Brexit? Ann Widdecombe, a Member of the European Parliament for the Brexit Party, doesn't think so. Her party's success in European elections, she says, is a reaffirmation that the British people want to leave the European Union. Watch the full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5Elcmkuqyc