Turkey battles Syrian Kurds 'on two fronts' in Afrin
Turkey's operation in Syria's Afrin: The key players
Turkish troops have taken control of 11 Kurdish positions
and created "safe zones" in neighbouring Syria's northwestern region
of Afrin, according to Turkish media.
Reports on Tuesday said the army, aided by Free Syria Army
rebels, is pushing towards the southern part of the Syrian region with fronts
on the west and the east.
The Turkish army, which launched the Afrin operation on
Saturday, captured the villages of Shankal, Qorne, Bali and Adah Manli, as well
as the rural areas of Kita, Kordo and Bibno and four other hills in Afrin, Turkish
daily Hurriyet reported.
State-run Anadolu news agency said that the forces launched
a second front towards Afrin from Syria's Azaz on Monday to squeeze the
People's Protection Units (YPG) - a Syrian Kurdish force - from both west and
east in order to advance on southern Afrin.
Turkey sees the YPG as a "terrorist group" that
acts as the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has
waged a bloody three-decade fight against the Turkish state.
Turkey's military announced its first fatality of the
campaign after a soldier was killed in clashes with the YPG southeast of the
border town of Gulbaba.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a
total of 22 Syrian civilians have been killed by Turkish attacks and two more
by Kurdish fire during the operation.
It said 54 Syrian fighters were killed, including 19
Ankara-backed rebels, 26 Kurdish fighters and nine unidentified figures.
Ankara has denied inflicting civilian casualties, with
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accusing the YPG of sending out
"nonsense propaganda and baseless lies".
The UN Security Council discussed Turkey's offensive and the
worsening humanitarian crisis in Syria on Monday but did not condemn or demand
an end to the Turkish operation.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, while visiting London,
said he was "concerned" about the offensive, and EU diplomatic chief
Federica Mogherini said she would discuss the situation with Turkish officials.
But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed
impatience with US demands to set a clear timetable, saying the campaign would
be over "when the target is achieved".
"How long have you been in Afghanistan? Is that over in
Iraq?" he said, referring to long-running US military presence in those
countries.
Erdogan has previously indicated that once control is
imposed in Afrin, Turkey wants to head east to defeat the YPG in the town of
Manbij.
Meanwhile, Russia and Iran - who have a military presence in
Syria and are working with Turkey on a peace process - have also expressed
concern.
Erdogan insisted Turkey had discussed the operation in
advance with Russia, and Moscow was in "agreement".
Response:
It is Clear to see that this article is meant for the people
who are involved in the Syrian/Kurds situations, people of voting age and both
male and female, people that have been impacted from this situation. The bias
of the author strains towards the Kurds, the author is likely for the Kurds and
their situation, they are in fact the underdogs and may be receiving pity from
the author. the is article is more information based then anything else, but I would
strain towards being on the Kurds side, since they don’t even have a place to
call home, even if they are causing destruction and desolation on others.
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