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Donald Trump warns Turkey over Syria invasion: White House

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The US president has told his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to rein in the offensive on Syria’s Kurdish enclave of Afrin, the White House says. Concerns the NATO allies may be brought into conflict are rising.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has again been urged to “de-escalate” his military assault on Afrin, a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria.

Following similar calls from other world leaders, US President Donald Trump spoke by phone to his Turkish counterpart on Wednesday, and called on the Ankara government to “limit its military action and avoid civilian casualties,” according to a White House statement.

Anti-American rhetoric

Trump also warned Erdogan about “the destructive and false” anti-American rhetoric which he said was emanating from Turkey, as the two NATO allies find themselves at odds over territory close to the Turkish border which is controlled by the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

Washington relies on the YPG, the major force within the alliance of Syrian Democratic Forces, to fight the “Islamic State” (IS) militant group in Syria.

Erdogan meanwhile accuses the YPG of being allied to a three-decade Kurdish insurgency in southern Turkey.

Together with aligned Syrian rebel fighters, Turkey began an air and ground operation in Syria’s Afrin district on Saturday to root out what Ankara says are Kurdish “terrorists” who are threatening security in the country.

The offensive has opened a new front in Syria’s multi-sided, seven-year war and complicated US efforts in Syria.

Amid rising tensions, Trump urged Turkey to “exercise caution and to avoid any actions that might risk conflict between Turkish and American forces.”

Erdogan urged Trump to halt Washington’s weapons support to the Kurdish militia, according to the White House.

Erdogan vows to press on

In separate comments, The Turkish leader wowed to extend the military operation to Manbij, a separate Kurdish-held enclave some 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Afrin, where some US forces are positioned alongside the SDF.

Kurdish leaders meanwhile have demanded that Washington rein in Turkey, and vowed to resist its cross-border operation.

Shervan Derwish, a spokesman for the Manbij Military Council, said his forces are on “full alert” in case Turkey moves on the city.

“We are in constant contact with coalition forces, who are conducting patrols on the front lines and aerial patrols — their troops are still in Manbij,” Derwish told the German news agency dpa by phone.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said in its latest death toll report that some 125 people were killed over the last five days in the Afrin region, among them Turkish-backed Syrian rebels.

Strong resistance

The Associated Press reported on Wednesday that the advancing Turkish troops are facing stiff resistance in Afrin, while the SOHR reported Turkish airstrikes had been witnessed in nearly 20 villages.

On Wednesday evening, rockets fired from Syria killed two people and wounded 11 more in the Turkish border province of Kilis.

mm/se (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)

KURDISH YPG AMBUSH ELITE TURKISH MOUNTAINEER TROOPS

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By Haider Al-Kufawi,
Turkish President Erdogan confirmed 8 troops were killed in operation ‘Olive Branch’ against the YPG in Afrin. This came hours after the YPG press office released shocking pictures showing the bodies and equipment of elite Turkish troops. Local sources say that the YPG is planning further ambushes to kill specifically elite troops to drain the Turkish force invading Syria.
Turkey has responded swiftly by deploying its gunships to the Afrin region to provide constant air support to troops on the ground. Turkish forces continue to advance into Afrin but casualties in ambushes may force a rethink of current military plans.

Terrorist State of Turkey claim it killed 260 Kurdish fighters in Syria

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As Turkey continues its offensive in Syria’s Kurdish enclave of Afrin, Ankara says it has killed 260 enemy fighters. Washington and Moscow have called for restraint as the United Nations readies aid supplies.

Turkey’s military said on Tuesday it has killed at least 260 Syrian Kurdish fighters and “Islamic State” (IS) militants in the first four days of operations in northwest Syria’s Kurdish-dominated region of Afrin.

There is no known IS presence in Afrin, which is under the control of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described the fighting as “very violent” to the northeast, northwest and southwest of Afrin, which lies adjacent to Turkey’s southern border.

The Observatory said 28 civilians were killed; a number vehemently denied by the Ankara government which insists it is only targeting militants. The monitoring group also said 43 Turkish-backed rebels had been killed as well as 38 Kurdish fighters, a number far lower than that provided by the Turkish military. Three Turkish soldiers have been killed since the offensive began on Saturday.

Artillery and drone strikes

The Turkish military and their Syrian rebel allies on Wednesday continued an offensive against the YPG, which the US is backing in the fight against IS, but who Ankara accuses of links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party waging a more than three decade fight in Turkey.

The military offensive has opened up a new front in Syria’s seven-year war, which could extend wider still and lead to a confrontation between Turkey and its NATO ally the US.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday said the operation could spread into the town of Manbij to the east, where some US troops are positioned alongside the SDF. He reiterated Ankara’s call for Washington to stop supporting the YPG.

Turkey Declares a Military Frontline Against America “Will Trump Act?”

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The U.S.-Turkish relationship had endured for over 70 years. But now Turkey wants to muscle the Americans out the Middle East. On a bogus pretext and backed by Russia, Turkey has launched an incursion into Syria – and a proxy war against the U.S.

Ankara’s latest military operation into the Afrin enclave in Syria is yet another example of Turkey’s drift from NATO. It is a de facto proxy war against the United States and part of a broader Turkish…

Could the Kurds beat Terrorist State of Turkey in Syria?

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by Michael Rubin,

After a multi-day artillery barrage, the Turkish Army has begun its push into Afrin, a district of Syria which has been governed by Syrian Kurds ever since they defeated al Qaeda and Islamic State terrorists. Turkish officials say they plan to set up a buffer zoneextending almost 20 miles into Syria from the Turkish border. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave a blistering speech threatening Turkey’s Kurds if they speak up on behalf of their Syrian counterparts and promising victory within “a very short period of time.”

That may be a fatal miscalculation, one which could cripple Turkey. Erdogan’s paranoia and political meddling in the military have taken a toll. Once the pride of NATO, the Turkish military and security services are a shadow of their former self. They lack the experience, training, and discipline of their predecessors. One in four Turkish pilots is in prison; many Turkish F-16s are grounded for lack of trained pilots. In 2012, Syrian forces downed a Turkish F-4, and Kurds have downed Turkish helicopters.

Nor is it clear the Turkish army can fight effectively. The Turks may occupy pockets in Syria, but their presence has long been more symbolic than real. One of the reasons the Turkish intelligence service (MIT) supplied and supported the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front and allowed the Islamic State free transit across Turkish territory was a quid pro quo in order to protect Turkish interests inside Syria. In short, Erdogan wanted to assume the status of military commander without actually having to fight the tough battles that originally elevated Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Republic of Turkey, to prominence.

Turkey’s competence gap can be seen in the few incidents where Turkish forces have come into contact with adversaries in Syria or Iraq. In 2016, the ISIS burned to death two Turkish soldiers that it captured in Syria. That ISIS terrorists were able to kidnap them in the first place demonstrates massive security lapses, and that Turkey was unable to determine their location prior to their execution reflects gaps in Turkish intelligence. Rather than acknowledge their murder, Erdogan responded as he often does with denial and deflection, refusing to acknowledge the accuracy of the video and then imposing a media blackout on the murders.

Turkey’s weakness is also reflected in deteriorating internal security. Terrorists have for decades targeted Turkey, but Turkish security forces successfully exposed and disrupted terrorist plots. After Erdogan purged senior military and security officials and rotated others out of territories and portfolios they knew inside-out, terrorism surged not only inside Turkey but even in the once-safe cities of Istanbul and Ankara. This should not have been unexpected to any leader cognizant of history. The Red Army hemorrhaged effectiveness after Soviet dictator Josef Stalin purged the officer corps prior to the Nazi invasion during World War II. Iraqi inroads into Iran in 1980 were due not only to the element of surprise, but also to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s hobbling of the Iranian officer corps during his post-revolutionary purge. More recently, ISIS seized Mosul after former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki replaced more professional officers with political loyalists who chickened out and ran at the sound of the first shot.

Turkey has fought the PKK since 1984. The group suffered a blow in 1999 when Turkish commandos, perhaps assisted by U.S. or Israeli intelligence, seized PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. While Turkish officials for more than a decade insisted the imprisoned and isolated Ocalan has become irrelevant, Erdogan transformed him into an indispensable Kurdish political leader by agreeing to negotiate peace with him. Erdogan may like to depict the PKK as terrorists — and, without doubt, they have engaged in terrorism — but in recent years, they have transformed themselves into more of a traditional insurgency. And while the links between the PKK and the Syrian-based Popular Mobilization Units (YPG) are real, Turkish officials are hard-pressed to attribute any attacks inside Turkey to Syrian Kurds from Afrin.

But while Turkey’s military is a shadow of its former self, the same can’t be said for the YPG. The Kurdish militia has been the most effective fighting force on the ground in Syria against al Qaeda and ISIS. For years, they operated alone — ignored by the United States and Russia, isolated by other Syrian opposition groups, and embargoed by Turkey. And yet, at Kobane and elsewhere, their discipline, high morale, and cohesion paid off. If they could operate against all odds against ISIS, they can likewise be a formidable opponent against Turkey, especially with home field advantage.

Nor is the PKK amateurish, especially after years of hardening in battle. In another incident censored by Turkey, PKK operatives managed to capture two of Turkey’s leading intelligence officials.

Nor are Turkey’s aims clear. There is hardly a Kurdish farmer or shopkeeper that Turkish officials — in assessments blinded by racism and ignorance — don’t see as terrorists. If Turkey seeks to wipe out “terrorists,” does that mean engaging in ethnic cleansing inside Syria? And, if that happens, what is to stop a blowback that will not only send hundreds of Turkish troops back home in body bags, but will also ignite the already repressed Kurdish population inside Turkey? If Turkey has been unable to defeat the PKK in Diyarbakir and Hakkari, will they be able to do so in Istanbul and Antalya? Just as Erdogan’s forces once supplied al Qaeda and ISIS with weaponry, what might happen if other countries — Russia, Israel, the Syrian regime, or even the United States — decide covertly to provide the means for the YPG to better defend themselves? If Kurds bring the fight into Turkey, can Turkey’s economy survive as the multi-billion dollar tourist industry shrinks 75 percent?

Erdogan operates in a domain of ego and ambition unencumbered by reality. He brands those who question him as terrorists, and so top aides understand they must tell him only what he wishes to hear. The result, now that Turkish forces are moving into Afrin against an opponent stronger than Erdogan realizes, could be disaster for Turkey. Erdogan may expect a quick victory. Not only is this not realistic, but he may soon find that what he sees as an ignorant terrorist group is strong enough to bleed Turkish invaders dry and run the Turkish economy into the ground.

Erdogan may set the stage not for triumphant victory but for a defeat that will shake Turkey to the core.

Michael Rubin (@Mrubin1971) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a former Pentagon official.

Source: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/could-the-kurds-beat-turkey-in-syria/article/2646726

Kurds reportedly destroy five Turkish tanks in Syria’s Arfin

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A video has appeared on YouTube showing the Kurdish YPG militia launch an anti-tank guided missile at a Turkish Leopard tank as the Turkish Army advanced toward Afrin in an offensive against the Kurdish forces.

Citing the ANF News agency, Sputniknews.com reports that the tank was hit in the area of the village of Kurdo in the Bilbil district of the Syrian city of Afrin on Sunday morning.

The video has been posted on the YouTube channel of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

In a single day, Kurdish fighters destroyed five Turkish tanks in the Afrin area, ANF reported.

Two tanks were hit in the village of Diqmetash and two in the vicinity of the town of Tel-Rifat. It is in these areas that the fiercest battles are currently being fought between Kurds and the Turkish Army.

The Kurdish command reported that four Turkish soldiers and 10 pro-Turkish guerrillas were killed in the fighting in northwestern Syria.

“As a result of these clashes, 10 members of the gang were killed in different parts of the region, 20 bandits [members of the armed Syrian opposition] were wounded. In addition, four Turkish soldiers were killed and many were injured in clashes in Bilbil,” the YPG reported in a press release.

It also said that during the clashes three soldiers of the Kurdish militia were killed.

 

Turkey-led forces reportedly recruit children in north Syria

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Opposition sources report that Turkish-led militant groups in northern Syria have recruited many non-adult males to fight Ankara’s battles, Al-Masdar News.

According to opposition sources, the Turkey-backed Syrian rebel coalition known as ‘Euphrates Shield’ has tens of child soldiers, most around 15-16 years old, within its ranks.

Some pictures were released by opposition sources to provide visual evidence of the claims being made.

The Euphrates Shield operations room was formed up from various rebel groups linked to the Free Syrian Army and Ahrar al-Sham (Syrian Muslim Brotherhood franchise) as part of a Turkish Army-led military incursion into northern Syria aimed at expelling ISIS from a key section of Turkish border.

Since the operation against the Islamic State group was terminated after the battle of Al-Bab , Euphrates Shield forces have so far relegated themselves to conducing occasional raids against positions of the Syrian Arab Army to their south and those of US-backed militias to their east and west.

Related links:

Al-Masdar News. Pictures: Turkey-led forces send children to war in north Syria

U.S. urges Turkey not to take military action in Syria’s Afrin

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The U.S. State Department urged Turkey on Thursday not to take military action against Afrin region in Syria and called instead for Ankara to remain focused on fighting Islamic State militants in the region, Reuters reported.

Asked about signs that Turkey was preparing to strike a Kurdish militia in Afrin, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a briefing: “We would call … on the Turks to not take any actions of that sort. … We don’t want them to engage in violence but we want them to keep focused on ISIS.”

Turkey sees the Syrian Kurdish forces as a terror group, which is one of the wings of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey, Ermenihaber reported.

Earlier the Turkish media said the U.S. was intending to set up a Syrian Kurdish border force. In response, the top Turkish officials threatened to launch military operations in Kurdish-held areas in Syria.

Breaking News: Syria threatens hostile action towards Turkey if they attack Afrin

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Syrian Foreign Ministry has warned Turkey against taking hostile action in Afrin, saying that Damascus will consider it an act of aggression and undermine the country’s sovereignty.

“We warn the Turkish leadership that if they initiate combat operations in the Afrin area, that will be considered an act of aggression by the Turkish army,” deputy foreign minister Faisal Meqdad told reporters.

The statement was made after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s statement made earlier in the day, saying that Ankara would intervene in Syria’s Afrin and Manbij, citing the threat posed by the Kurdish militants to the integrity of the Syrian border.

Cavusoglu has also outlined the country’s position towards Syrian government forces in Idlib, saying that their advance should be stopped.

 

Armenian Genocide denial at the root of vile events in Turkey: Turkish expert

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Publisher of The California Courier Harut Sassounian has unveiled a fresh article about prominent Turkish political scientist Cengiz Aktar who believes that the denial of the Armenian Genocide by the Turkish government is at the root of all vile events that have occurred in Turkey since 1915.

The article reads:

On Dec. 30, 2017, Cengiz Aktar, a prominent Turkish political scientist, journalist and writer, published a candid and compassionate article about the Armenian Genocide. Aktar’s article titled, “Confronting past violence with more violence,” is posted on Ahvalnews.com, an independent overseas website, beyond the reach of the Turkish government’s oppressive regime.

Prof. Aktar begins his article with a stern warning to Turkish denialists: “Unless we, as a society confront a massive crime in our past like the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and unless we commit due reparations to the descendants of innocent victims, impunity will haunt us, and even more evil will follow. This is a century-old ethical predicament with remarkably deep roots.” Aktar not only demands recognition of the Armenian Genocide, but more significantly, “reparations.”

Prof. Aktar believes that the denial of the Armenian Genocide by the Turkish government is at the root of all vile events that have occurred in Turkey since 1915: “Considering that Genocide is a substantially massive crime than any of the public, individual or collective infractions, or the incessant evils of today, if the public consciousness can stomach Genocide, it can easily stomach any lawlessness. And thus, evil begets evil. We as a society have constantly refused to bring up the events of 1915 due to the intensity of the transgressions that followed suit — directly correlated to the impunity of Genocide — as well as voluntary or forced dementia.”

Indeed, violence and injustice have become routine in Turkey due to the reluctance of dealing with the mass crimes of the Armenian Genocide: “…Collective dementia, collective violence, and collective depravity that were imposed after the transgressions of 1915 became our lifestyle. Now we have unlimited violence and depravity everywhere, inside our homes, barracks, workplaces, hospitals — in every arena, from politics to the media — against everything from humans, to animals, nature, cities, and culture. But lawlessness, impunity, injustice, and indifference are everywhere as well.”

Aktar describes the denial of the Armenian Genocide as an on-going ‘curse’ upon Turkey that has led to many of today’s evils in Turkish society: “Some kind of schizophrenia that immediately forces one to forget and try to make others forget the violence it just inflicted. This is a collective sickness that transgresses the delusions of banal everyday politics. However, the suppressed memories of the past violence keep themselves alive in the public sub-consciousness by creating more violence, testing the confines of our dementia. So much so that while trying to forget an evil, we beget a new one! Maybe this is the curse of a society that refuses to face voluntarily its past violence through involuntary confrontation with daily violence with all its sinister consequences.”

At the end of his graciously humanistic article, Aktar reposts another powerful article he had written just before 2015, on the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, in Taraf newspaper which was deleted from the website by the Turkish authorities.

In his earlier article, Prof. Aktar also blamed all the evils occurring in Turkey today due to the curse inflicted upon Turkish society by the victims of the Armenian Genocide: “Who knows, all the evil haunting us, endless mass killings, and our inability to recover from afflictions may be due to a century-old curse and a century-old lie. What do you think? This is perhaps the malediction uttered by Armenians, children, civilian women and men alike who died moaning, and buried without a coffin. It may be the storms created in our souls by the still agonizing specters of all our ill-fated citizens including Greeks and Syriacs and later Alevis and Kurds. Perhaps, the massacres which have not been accounted for since 1915 and the charge which have remained unpaid are now being paid back in different venues by the grandchildren. The curses uttered in return for the lives taken, the lives stolen, the homes plundered, the churches destroyed, the schools confiscated, and the property extorted…. ‘May God make you pay for it for all your offspring to come’… Are we paying back the price of all the injustice done so far? Does repayment manifest itself in the form of an audacity of not being able to confront with our past sins or in the form of indecency that has become our habit due to our chronic indulgence in unfairness? It seems as if our society has been decaying for a century, with festering all around.”

When Turkish leaders accept the mass crimes committed by their ancestors and make amends for them, as Prof. Aktar suggests, that is when Armenia and Turkey can establish normal diplomatic relations and only then can they put the past behind them. May Allah bestow His blessings on this righteous Turk and his pursuit of Godly justice!