US-Turkey relations

Turkish Military Encircles Kurdish-held Town of Afrin In Syria

Turkey’s military and its rebel allies have encircled the northern Syrian town of Afrin, the Turkish armed forces said on Tuesday, marking a substantial advance in Turkey’s offensive against Kurdish fighters across its southern border.

Turkey launched its operation, dubbed “Olive Branch”, in northern Syria nearly two months ago to sweep the Syrian Kurdish YPG from the Turkish border. Turkey sees the YPG as a terrorist group and an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The forces encircled Afrin town and also captured “areas of critical importance” in the region as of Monday, the Turkish military said in a statement.
On Monday, a Turkish government spokesman said the armed forces had gained control of more than half the area and vowed to clear the Afrin town of militants.
President Tayyip Erdogan last week said Turkish forces had besieged the Afrin town and were nearing its town center, but a YPG spokesman later denied this, saying the regions claimed to be under Turkish control were still battlegrounds.
Since the start of its offensive, Turkey has also threatened to push its military operations to Manbij, further east, to sweep Syrian Kurdish fighters from the length of its borders.

The United States has armed the Kurdish YPG fighters in Syria during the fight against the Islamic State or Daesh as the locals call it, after they took vast areas of the country during the Syrian civil war. This support among other things has driven a deep wedge between the U.S. and their long-time ally of Turkey.

To read the entire article from Reuters, click here:

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Turkey Rejects US ‘Double Standard’ in Afrin Ceasefire

The Turkish government criticized the U.S. government and accused it of a double standard by specifying which terrorist groups are viable targets in Syria and which are not.

The latest statements from Ankara show the Turks are upset by remarks by the U.S. that go to show that the Turkish current operations in Afrin are a violation of the UN’s Syria ceasefire resolution.

Speaking to reporters in Ankara, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said: “Afrin is not mentioned there [in the UN resolution] … Terrorists are all the same, you cannot divide them into bad and good ones. The United States behaves illogically guided by double standards, this cannot be accepted.”
When asked by reporters on Tuesday if Turkey is “violating the UN ceasefire” in Syria, US Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert said that she would “encourage Turkey to go back and read the UN resolution.”
The UN Security Council on Saturday, February 24, passed a resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria.
Quoting the UN resolution, Heather Nauert said: “[the UN] demands that all parties cease hostilities without delay and engage immediately to ensure full and comprehensive implementation of this demand by all parties for a durable humanitarian pause for at least 30 consecutive days throughout Syria.”
But Nauert added “It [the resolution] affirms that the cessation of hostilities shall not apply to military operations against the Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), also known as Daesh, al-Qaeda, and al-Nusrah Front, and all other individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities associated with al-Qaeda and ISIL and other terror groups as designated by the Security Council.”
“So I think the resolution was clear here in naming exactly which groups are considered to be exempt from the ceasefire.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy spared no words for the U.S. spokeswoman Heather Nauert stating that she either didn’t understand the focal point of the resolution or was deliberately trying to distort it.

The Turks insist that the ceasefire is meant to allay hard hit civilian areas that have been hard-hit by air raids from the Syrian government of Assad and not the counter-terror efforts by the Turks in Afrin.

To read the entire article from the Al Jazeera, click here:

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Turkey: Relations With US at Breaking Point, Stalling Against ISIS

The U.S. is sending US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is due in Ankara later this week to help defuse tensions with the Turkish government of President Erdogan. Relations with the Turks, a long-time ally have never been worse and now Turkey is claiming that the U.S. is intentionally stalling the fight against the Islamic State to justify their forces remaining with Kurdish fighters and thus giving them a level of protection against Turkish attacks.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday warned that Turkey-US ties were at a “critical point” and Washington needed to take “concrete steps” to regain Ankara’s trust.
“Our relations are at a very critical stage,” Cavusoglu said in televised comments in Istanbul. “Either we will improve ties or these ties will totally break down.”
Tensions between the two NATO allies escalated after Ankara last month launched a military offensive against the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia in the western enclave of Afrin in northern Syria.
While Turkey views the YPG as a terrorist group because of its links to Kurdish insurgents fighting in Turkey, the US has been backing the Kurdish militia in the fight against the “Islamic State.”
Cavusoglu claimed that US forces are leaving “pockets” with IS militants intact to justify continued cooperation with the Kurdish militia.
Turkey has also warned the US to remove its troops from the YPG-held town of Manbij as it threatens to expand its offensive towards the town east of Afrin.

The two sides will soon meet in Ankara to “repair broken trust” as the Turks have billed it, but to defuse tensions from the American perspective. The former protest against Assad has turned Syria into a regional hotspot with several nations now involved and could be a powder keg more potent than the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan.

To read the entire article from Deutsche Welle, click here:

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Turkish Offensive Kills 260 Kurdish Fighters in Afrin

Turkey claims to have killed at least 260 Syrian Kurdish fighters and Islamic State militants in its on-going and open-ended offensive into the Kurdish-dominated Afrin region of northwest Syria, Turkish military officials said on Tuesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump plans to raise concerns with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call expected on Wednesday about Ankara’s offensive against U.S.-backed Kurdish YPG forces in Afrin, a senior U.S. official said.
French President Emmanuel Macron also voiced disquiet, a few hours after Turkey’s foreign minister said it wanted to avoid any clash with U.S., Russian or Syrian government forces during its offensive but would do whatever necessary for its security.
The air and ground operation has opened a new front in Syria’s multi-sided civil war and could threaten U.S. plans to stabilize and rebuild a large area of northeast Syria – beyond President Bashar al-Assad’s control – where Washington helped a force dominated by the YPG to drive out Islamic State militants.
Ankara has been infuriated by the U.S. support for the YPG, which is one of several issues that have brought ties between Washington and its Muslim NATO ally close to breaking point.
“The future of our relations depends on the step the United States will take next,” Cavusoglu said.
Turkey’s military, the second largest in NATO, has conducted air strikes and artillery barrages against targets in Afrin, and its soldiers and allied Syrian rebels tried to thrust into the Kurdish-held district from west, north and eastern flanks.
With heavy cloud cover hindering air support in the last 24 hours, advances have been limited and Kurdish militia have retaken some territory. Turkish troops and the Syrian fighters have been trying to take the summit of Bursaya Hill, overlooking the eastern approach to Afrin town.

Turkey’s intentions not only lie in Afrin but in driving out the YPG from the nearby town of Manbij to the east, where the Turks claim artillery shots are constantly launched into Turkish territory.

The Kurds dispute the claim that Turkey is fighting Islamic State fighters in Afrin only them. The Turkish government considers YPG to be a terrorist group.

To read the entire article from Reuters, click here:

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Turkish Airstrikes Pound Kurdish Held Town of Afrin

Turkey launched a reported 72 aircraft to begin an air and ground offensive against Kurdish fighters from the northern Syrian city of Afrin. The Turks reportedly hit 100 targets in and around the city according to their state-run news agency.

The Kurdish YPG militia responded that it had no choice but to fight back and “defeat this aggression.”

Turkish warplanes on Saturday carried out airstrikes against Kurdish positions in the northwestern city of Afrin as Turkish-backed Syrian rebel fighters launched a ground offensive.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the start of the operation, dubbed “Olive Branch,” adding that it would soon be expanded to other areas.
“This will be followed by Manbij,” he said, referring to a Syrian town to the east held by US-backed Kurdish militias.
The Turkish army said the land and air assault aimed to hit positions held by the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and “Islamic State” (IS) militants. However, IS is not known to have a presence in Afrin.
Erdogan did not specify whether Turkish troops had crossed the border. He said only that Turkey was determined “to clear our country up to the Iraqi border from this terror filth that is trying to besiege our country.”

This is a delicate operation for Erdogan and his government. The Syrians have said that this was aggression against their territory and will shoot down any Turkish aircraft that crosses the border.

The US has armed, advised, and supported the Kurds in the YPG and these latest moves may further the downward spiral of political goodwill between Washington and Ankara. The Russian military had improved relations with the YPG and had their own forces in Afrin. But they are pulling out to lessen the chance of their soldiers coming under fire.

Stuck in the middle of the chaos is the 800,000 civilians. Many flocked to Afrin to escape the fighting elsewhere and now stuck between two factions with the Islamic State waiting in the wings.

To read the entire article from Deutsche Welle, click here:

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Erdogan: “The US is Building a Terror Army in Syria”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan minced no words as he called Washington’s plan to establish and train a 30,000-man Kurdish security force in Syria along the Turkish border a “terror army.” The area in question runs along the southern border of Turkey with Syria.

The U.S. plans to heavily recruit its force from the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) of which a large part of them are from the People’s Protection Units (YPG). That organization (YPG) considered by Turkey to be a “terrorist group” with ties to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). That has Erdogan infuriated.

“What we are supposed to do is to drown this terror army before in comes into being,” he said in an address in the capital, Ankara, on Monday, calling the Kurdish fighters “back-stabbers” who will point their weapons to the US in the future.
His comments came after reports revealed Washington’s plan to establish a 30,000-strong new border security force with the involvement of Kurdish fighters in northern Syria.
Erdogan said that Turkey’s armed forces had completed preparations for an operation against the Kurdish-controlled region of Afrin in northwest Syria and the town of Manbij.
Warning Turkey’s allies against helping “terrorists” in Syria, he said: “We won’t be responsible for consequences”.
In a statement late on Sunday, the Turkish foreign ministry had called “wrong and objectionable” any cooperation with the YPG.
“The establishment of the so-called Syria Border Protection Force was not consulted with Turkey, which is a member of the coalition,” it said.
“To attribute such a unilateral step to the whole coalition is an extremely wrong move that could harm the fight against Daesh,” the ministry added, using an alternative acronym for ISIL.

This has caused extreme high tension between the US and Turkey, who prior to this were considered staunch allies. President Trump said in November that Washington would no longer supply weapons to the YPG. This news has to be disconcerting to Ankara.

Meanwhile, Syrian Kurdish officials said on Sunday that fighting between the YPG and Turkish forces was already underway.

To read the entire article from Al Jazeera, click here:

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Turkey Summons Top US Envoy Over Syrian Kurds

Turkey is not happy that the US has continued to support and arm Syrian Kurdish fighters, and their foreign ministry has summoned the top US diplomat in the country to voice its “discomfort” over the situation.

Turkey’s state-run media, the Anadolu news agency quoting government sources, said that US Embassy Charge d’Affaires Phillip Kosnett was summoned to the ministry. Kosnett is the most senior US Embassy official in Turkey since Ambassador John Bass departed in 2017. No replacement has been named yet.

The People’s Protection Units (YPG), the armed wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, is seen by the US as the most effective ground partner for the US-led coalition fighting ISIL in Syria.
The YPG has received arms shipments and training from the US, in a move that angered Turkey which considers the Kurdish forces to be a “terrorist group” that threatens its security.
Ankara says YPG fighters are linked to Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) separatists inside Turkey, who have waged an armed campaign since 1984 that has killed more than 40,000 people.
Wednesday’s move was not the first time Turkey has announced its displeasure with the US about the issue. In May 2017, Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli called the supply of weapons to the Kurdish forces “unacceptable”.

Ankara’s ire isn’t just centered on the United States. The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also called out Russia and Iran to stick to the joint accord they signed with Turkey last year agreeing on a “de-escalation zone” in Idlib which were set up to scale back the conflict.

However, Syrian regime forces, with Russian backing have stepped up attacks trying to regain control of the area controlled by the rebels. “Iran and Russia need to carry out their responsibilities. If you are guarantors, which you are, stop the regime,” Cavusoglu said.

To read the entire article from Al Jazeera, click here:

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U.S. To Cut Off Weapons Shipments to Syrian Kurdish SDF

After doing the lion’s share of the fighting in capturing the Syrian city of Raqqa, the Kurds are getting bad news. President Trump announced that the US will no longer be arming the Syrian Kurds in a phone call to the Turkish President.

That move is another blow for the Kurdish people who have been doing the majority of the fighting in clearing the Islamic State from large areas of Syria. But it is good news for the Turkish government who view the Kurds as terrorists.

In a phone call Friday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump said he’d “given clear instructions” that the Kurds receive no more weapons — “and that this nonsense should have ended a long time ago,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. The White House confirmed the move in a cryptic statement about the phone call that said Trump had informed the Turks of “pending adjustments to the military support provided to our partners on the ground in Syria.”
The move could help ease strained tensions between the U.S. and Turkey, two NATO allies that have been sharply at odds about how best to wage the fight against Islamic State. Turkey considers the Kurdish Syrian fighters, known by the initials YPG, to be terrorists because of their affiliation to outlawed Kurdish rebels that have waged a three decade-long insurgency in Turkey. Yet the U.S. chose to partner with the YPG in Syria anyway, arguing that the battle-hardened Kurds were the most effective fighting force available.
Cavusoglu, who said he was in the room with Erdogan during Trump’s call, quoted the U.S. president as saying he had given instructions to U.S. generals and to national security advisor H.R. McMaster that “no weapons would be issued.”
“Of course, we were very happy with this,” Cavusoglu said.

It appears that both the Pentagon and Kurds were caught by surprise by this announcement by the President. The US has been arming, training, and advising the Kurds, who comprise the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces). There are several hundred US Special Operations troops currently embedded with the SDF in Syria.

To read the entire article from the Los Angeles Times click here:

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Turkey Revamps Top Military Officials and Now Will Attack Kurds in Syria

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has just reshuffled the top leadership in the military and has spoken of military action against Kurdish fighters in Syria that could set back the progress of the U.S.-led battle against Islamic State.

Kurdish militia are being armed and supplied by the US, and they are spearheading an assault against the Syrian stronghold Raqqa, which was the so-called caliphate of the Islamic State. But with the battle not yet over, this latest move by Erdogan complicates an already delicate US – Turkish alliance that has been tested recently.

The U.S. backing for the Kurdish YPG fighters in Syria has infuriated Turkey, which views them as the Kurdish PKK within their own borders as a terrorist organization. The Turks believe that the YPG, armed by the US as a security threat due to a decades-old insurgency with PKK inside Turkey.

There have been regular exchanges of rocket and artillery fire in recent weeks between Turkish forces and YPG fighters who control part of Syria’s northwestern border.
“We will not leave the separatist organization in peace in both Iraq and Syria,” Erdogan said in a speech on Saturday in the eastern town of Malatya, referring to the YPG in Syria and PKK bases in Iraq. “We know that if we do not drain the swamp, we cannot get rid of flies.”
The YPG denies Turkish allegations of links with Kurdish militants inside Turkey, saying it is only interested in self-rule in Syria and warning that any Turkish assault will draw its fighters away from the battle against Islamic State which they are waging in an alliance with local Arab forces.

Erdogan’s comments in a semi-swipe at US President Trump follow the appointment of three new leaders of Turkey’s army, air force and navy just a week ago – moves which may be aimed at preparing for any campaign against the YPG militia.

To read the entire article from Reuters, click here:

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Turkey Claims to be Destroying ISIS Cells at Home

High-level Turkish officials speaking anonymously have claimed that Turkish security and intelligence organizations are dealing heavy blows to Islamic State cells and networks in the country.

The Turks have been rounding up foreign fighters who, according to their security organizations were plotting further terrorist attacks inside the country.

“Since the New Year’s attack by IS in Istanbul which took 39 lives, Turkey has been dealing heavy blows to this extremist organization,” the official said. “Turkey is part of the international anti-IS coalition. We are very determined as always and continue to fight against IS and all other terrorist organizations.”
Last week, Turkish security forces stormed a suspected IS cell in the Anatolian province of Konya, killing at least five IS fighters.
In recent weeks,Turkish special police forces have detained a total of 233 IS suspects in 29 provinces, according to Turkish media reports.
Separately, in early July, Turkish security forces also detained 29 suspected IS members in Istanbul.
The majority of the suspects, who were detained in raids carried out across the country, were foreign nationals and were allegedly preparing to stage attacks in Turkey, according to Turkish media reports.
Turkey’s interior ministry recently published a report listing the number of foreign nationals in IS ranks in the country. Tunisians top the list followed by citizens of Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, France, Russia and Belgium.
The same report said foreign fighters who arrive in Turkey to join IS try to cross into the war zones of Syria and Iraq.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently claimed that Turkey has deported 5,000 people suspected of having links to terrorist organizations, banned more than 50,000 people from entering the country, and cleared the border region of IS fighters.
Yesugay Aksakal, a former law enforcement official and counterterrorism expert, told VOA that following a series of security operations across Turkey, IS cells have been dismantled and that the terror group’s ability to wage attacks has been considerably diminished.
“Turkey also shares intelligence with Western countries. This relationship is independent of political relations. Intelligence cooperation helps prevent violent terror acts in different countries,” Aksakal said.

The US has praised Turkey’s work on clearing out the cells of Islamic State terrorists and reiterated that the Turkish government has been staunch allies of the US since the days of the Korean War.

However, the Turks didn’t mention nor did the US of the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers Party, who the Turks have branded a terrorist organization. They are closed aligned with the Kurdish forces that the US has been arming in Syria. It has been a particularly sticky point between Washington and Ankara.

To read the entire article from The Voice of America News click here:

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