Over the last fortnight, a limited but lethal insurgency has rocked Deir ez-Zor - part of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the last region to be liberated from ISIS. Now that the immediate danger has been contained, it is important to look at the combination of factors that allowed this to happen, from political miscalculation and mismanagement to economic pressures, and at the roles played by the Syrian regime and by the different powers that attempt to direct Syria’s future to their own advantage. This week’s review also looks at deadly political machinations in Kirkuk, the Kurdish parties from Iran, and solidarity from Sweden.