Syria demands immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Turkish troops from its territory

October 14, 2017 By administrator

Damascus, SANA – “Syria condemns in the strongest possible terms the incursion of Turkish army units into Idleb province, stressing that it constitutes a blatant aggression against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country and a flagrant violation of international law, a source at the Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

The source added that the Turkish aggression has nothing to do with what has been agreed upon by the guarantor states during the latest round of talks in Astana, emphasizing that Turkey should abide by provisions of Astana statement.

It noted that the Turkish troops dashed into Idleb province accompanied by Jabhat a-Nusra terrorists which shows clearly the close relationship between Turkish regime and terrorist groups, a matter that the international community should pay more attention to and take firm stance in order to oblige Turkey to end its support to terrorism which managed to shed the blood of Syrian people and destabilize the region and the entire world.

The Syrian Arab Republic demands an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Turkish troops from the Syrian territories, stressing that the Turkish flagrant aggression cannot be justified in any way.

Iraq censures US, EU for inaction over Turkey’s troops deployment

February 17, 2016 By administrator

044c5b5e-ffcf-4e80-9f95-47911770ef38 Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi censured the United States and the European Union Tuesday for inaction on Turkey’s military deployment north of Iraq, warning that Baghdad may be forced to get help from Russia for pushing back the Turkish forces.

In a phone conversation, Abadi has warned US President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden that Turkey may be aiming to occupy the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and areas surrounding it in the same manner that it invaded Cyprus in 1974, urging the US and European allies to make Turkey leave the Iraqi territory as soon as possible, the Lebanese al-Mayadeen news channel reported.

In early December 2015, Turkey deployed a contingent of its troops to the Bashiqa military camp north of Mosul, claiming that the move had been earlier coordinated with Iraqi officials. Baghdad swiftly denied the claim and called on Ankara to immediately withdraw its forces from the camp.

Abadi warned the White House and leaders of major European powers that Iraq may be compelled to ask for Russia’s intervention in northern Iraq if Turkey does not pull back its troops from Bashiqa.

The Iraqi prime minister also warned Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu that if Ankara does not specify a clear timetable for the withdrawal of the troops, Iraq could resort to other options.

Baghdad had previously filed an official complaint with the United Nations Security Council, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the Turkish contingent.

Abadi also slammed an emerging plan by some Persian Gulf Arab states for deploying troops into Syria, saying such action would directly affect the security of Iraq and could fan the flames of militancy in the Middle East.

Turkish troops kill Kurdish activist at Kobane border “Kader Ortakaya”

November 8, 2014 By administrator

By Alexander Whitcomb

Kader Ortakaya, a 28 year old graduate student in Istanbul, was killed Thursday by Turkish forces on the Syrian border. Photo: Aso Viyan

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkish military killed a Kurdish activist after she crossed into Syria in an attempt to reach the besieged border town of Kobane, local witnesses said. Report Rudaw

Twenty-eight year old Kader Ortakaya was shot in the head on Thursday when she a dozen other activists rushed across the Turkish border into Kobane. Her body was taken to a hospital inside the city.

The activists were able to cross because border police were distracted by a shootout between Turkish troops and armed Syrian Kurds on the other side of the border.

A group of artists belonging to the ‘Initiative for Free Art’ had formed a human chain near the border, and Ferhat Tunç, a prominent Zaza-Kurdish musician from Turkey, was giving an interview on television when violence began.

Turkish military fired tear gas on the crowd, who had been shouting slogans and flashing victory signs representing support for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and their affiliate in Syria, the Democratic Unity Party (PYD). The PKK is considered a terrorist group in Turkey, where it has conducted a three decade long insurrection against the government, which has a long history of violently suppressing Kurdish rights.

Witnesses report that the military then began to fire live ammunition on the crowd, at which point PYD supporters on the other side of the border returned fire. Several activists then crossed into Syria, at which point Kader Ortakaya was killed.

Ortakaya was a member of the Collective Freedom Platform, a PKK-linked group, and a graduate student at Marmara University in Istanbul. She had been at the protests in Gezi Park last year, and had been monitoring the Mürşitpınar crossing and other areas on the Syrian-Turkish border for over three weeks.

The group of activists she was with had been watching closely for instances of cooperation between Turkey and the Islamic State (ISIS), as well as for ways to support the PYD’s militia—the People’s Protection Units (YPG)—and as many as 500 citizens who remain in the city.

The PKK-linked Firat News Agency wrote that she was “deliberately” targeted by Turkish military, which had been silent about the event.

Meanwhile Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga and Free Syrian Army forces have helped the local YPG fighters slowly reverse ISIS gains in the city.

“The situation is getting better,” says Ahmad Gardi, the Peshmerga commander on the ground in Kobane. “New weapons have arrived, and we will get more whenever they are needed. We will not leave until the city is wiped clean of ISIS.”

Gardi added that no Peshmerga had yet been killed, and that they have destroyed a number of ISIS tanks and artillery.

Polat Jan, a spokesperson for the YPG, told Rudaw that 250 YPG fighter have been killed since the siege began over seven weeks ago, but that the “existence of Peshmarga in Kobane changed the balance of power. We are advancing towards ISIS positions, and now the majority of the city is under our control.”

The majority of fighting has been in ISIS-controlled areas of east Kobane in recent days. A US-led coalition airstrike 25km east of the city on Thursday led some of the city’s defenders to believe ISIS had evacuated a number of troops, but the concentration of the estimated 3,000-4,000 ISIS militants around Kobane remains unclear.