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rational security, chatter, law fair no bull, and the aftermath.

There are a number of ISIS detention centers as well as displacement camps in northeast Syria.

Already there were issues with the safety and security and stability of those camps and detention sites prior to the pandemic.

The pandemic simply, I think, deepened and heightened those concerns, added a layer of agitation to those both in the prisons and in the displacement camps.

And we've seen, for example, the same prison in Hasek-e-Provence in northeastern Syria have rioting take place amongst the prisoners, not once but twice.

So that's another area that one needs to watch, particularly since ISIS has placed a premium on calling for prison breaks as a way of boosting its recruitment.

I'm David Pris and this is the LawFair podcast July 13, 2020.

You've heard a lot about COVID-19 and its effects in the United States, in China and East Asia, in Europe, and even in Brazil.

But what about the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa? The virus is hitting these regions hard with profound political and national security consequences.

To discuss it all, we brought into the virtual jungle studio and all-star panel of regional experts.

First, Mona Yacubian, she is a senior advisor on Syria, the Middle East, and North Africa at the United States Institute of Peace.

Second, Nalanti Samaranayaka, she is the director of the Strategy and Policy Analysis Program at CNA, with expertise on Indian Ocean and South Asia security.

Finally, Judd Devermont, he is the director of the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former National Intelligence Officer for Africa.

It's the LawFair podcast July 13, COVID-19 and its national security implications in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa.

Mona, let's start with Iran and then the wider Middle East in terms of how COVID arrived and how it spread this spring. How did it first affect the Levant and the wider Middle East?

So, Iran was the first country in the Middle East to experience COVID and it was quite early, as early as mid-February, that there were actual reports of it.

It started in the religious city of coal, but then very quickly spread throughout the country.

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