Explained | Colonial Borders: How West sparked the endless Middle East fire that still burns | World News
Ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Sudan, ceasefires halted and tensions rising again. While the post-Assad transition processes in Syria are faced with Turkish-backed advances and Israeli attacks occupying an area of more than 350 square kilometers, Damascus-SDF talks are being disrupted due to autonomy disputes.
There are Saudi-UAE conflicts in Yemen over separatists, Houthi threats to Red Sea shipping, and high civilian tolls; Gaza faces the risk of Israeli re-entry if Hamas delays disarmament under Trump’s peace plans and Lebanon endures Israeli attacks on Hezbollah after a post-2024 ceasefire.
The endless fire in the Middle East does not only stem from oil reserves, power dominance and Shiite-Sunni rivalry, its history dates back to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and colonial rule.
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Western lines have led to endless conflicts and sectarian rivalries, without taking into account the tribal Middle East.
Historical Background
The collapse of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War in 1918 left the multi-ethnic provinces in a vacuum, exploited by Britain and Russia, whose ‘Great Game’ ambitions preceded official mandates.
While tribal borders ignored nomadic migrations in the deserts, the Sunni-Shia divide was further strengthened by modern state building due to caliphate disputes in the 7th century.
For centuries, tribes roamed freely in the deserts without fixed borders. The Ottoman Empire governed a large region of Muslims, Arabs, Kurds, and others from the 1500s until its collapse in 1918 following World War I.
The West and the Sykes-Picot Agreement
Russia and Britain vied for power in the ‘Great Game’ before the First World War. After the war, Britain and France signed the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement in 1916.
They drew straight lines on maps to seize land, build oil pipelines, and create new countries.
Iraq was born in 1920 with the unification of Sunni Arabs in the center, Shiite Arabs in the south, and Kurds in the north, who often fought with each other.
Syria separated from Lebanon, while Jordan and Palestine got fake borders that ignored real communities. British ‘divide and rule’ games sparked early rebellions, such as in Iraq in 1920.
Neverending Conflict
These flat colonial borders lock rival groups like Iraq’s Sunnis and Shiites, who helped fuel the rise of ISIS, within a single country.
Alawites on the coast of Syria are against Sunnis who are powering the civil war. Proxy militias fight on behalf of foreigners; Iran arms groups such as Hezbollah and the Houthis; Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and the USA support Sunnis or Kurds.
Oil riches finance the weapons and sectarian grudges keep the weapons burning. In 2026, this map turns small sparks into huge conflagrations, from Gaza blockades to Yemen shipping chaos to land grabs in Syria.
Iran’s Nuclear Attack
Countries in the Middle East are vying for nuclear energy to feed growing energy demands and gain strategic advantages, intensifying regional tensions amid long-standing rivalries.
Iran is leading with its advanced program, including the Bushehr reactor, which has been in operation since 2011, and its ongoing uranium enrichment approaching weapons-grade levels despite international scrutiny and the latest 2025 attacks on its facilities, leading to new US-Iran talks in Oman.
Colonial-era borders, along with nuclear energy squabbles, religious conflicts, trade gateways and Oil hegemony, trap hostile groups, risking escalation that could spark wider wars.
