....The balance of forces in Jarablus may further complicate the next US steps in northern Syria, especially given the role of US special forces in the region. Gurcan reports that the heavy presence of armored and engineering forces along the border could be a sign of Ankaras intention to set up a permanent base at Jarablus modeled after the Bashiqa base near Mosul in Iraq. Candar adds that the Turkish military coordinated Operation Euphrates Shield with about 1,500 Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters, who have a miserable record of holding territory. Many of the FSA forces are composed of Salafists, and Gurcan adds that their numbers are expected to reach 5,000-strong as they are joined by perhaps a dozen armed groups such as Ahrar al-Sham. Ahrar al-Sham is allied with the Syrian Conquest Front, the rebranded Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaedas affiliate in Syria. The SDF and the YPG, unlike the FSA, have so far avoided alliances with the Syrian Conquest Front and other Salafi groups. https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/08/biden-diplomatic-triage-turkey-syria-policy-iran.html
Nordsyrien: Türkei-Islamisten-Allianz greift Anti-IS-Allianz an
Absurder kann es nicht mehr werden: Die USA unterstützt den Einmarsch türkischer Truppen im Verbund mit dschihadistischen Gruppen, um angeblich den IS zu vertreiben (Kampflose Eroberung von Dscharablus: Wer an der türkischen Offensive auf Dscharablus beteiligt war). Deutschland sagt der Türkei Unterstützung zu.In einem Propagandavideo zeigen die türkischen Militärs die Eroberung der menschenleeren Stadt Jarablus. https://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/49/49258/1.html
Occupant Turkish army has launched an attack targeting a position of YPG (People's Defense Units) between Amude and Qamishlo cities of Rojava, West Kurdistan.
Demonstrations against Turkish occupation spread in Rojava
Thousands of people in Dirbêsiyê, Til Temir and Zirgan cities of Rojava's Cizîr Canton are protesting the Turkish states massacre and invasion in the south of Jarablus.
The people marched to the city center, chanting Invading Turkish state, leave Rojava and Syria!. Teacher Nojîn Sîdo read a statement in the name of the people. Sîdo condemned the occupant Turkish armys massacre of civilians in the south of Jarablus and the international community for staying silent against the massacre and the Turkish states invasion. https://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/demonstrations-against-turkish-occupation-spread-in-rojava
Turkey rejects US claims of ceasefire with Syrian Kurds
A conference titled The Urgent Situation in Northern Syria, Turkish Invasion, Europes Security and An Alternative to the Turkey Deal has been held in the European Parliament in the Belgian capital Brussels today. The conference hosted by Slovakian EP deputy Branislav Skripek was held in Anna Politikovska Conference Hall. PYD Co-chair Saleh Moslem and David Vergili in the name of the European Syriac Union attended the conference as speakers. Attendance was high in the conference. Branislav Skripek gave the opening speech and said they were there to draw attention to the situation Rojava is in, and that There is a serious fight against ISIS in Rojava. Everybody should take their part in it. https://anfenglish.com/news/saleh-moslem-speaks-at-ep-eu-must-speak-up-about-turkey-s-invasion
Heute, am 30.08.16 wurde der kurdische Aktivist Mustafa Çelik vom Oberlandesgericht Celle wegen Mitgliedschaft in einer terroristischen Vereinigung im Ausland gemeint ist die Arbeiterpartei Kurdistan (PKK) nach §§ 129a, 129b StGB zu 2 Jahren und 6 Monaten Haft verurteilt worden. https://linksunten.indymedia.org/de/node/188773
Saudi Arabia backs Turkish action against Kurds in northern Syria
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister on Friday reiterated his country's full backing of Turkish military operations in northern Syria against IS and Kurdish militants, and suggested a military solution remained the strongest option to get rid of Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad.
British YPG fighters 'head to Manbij to face Turkish forces'
A brigade of British volunteers fighting with a US-backed Kurdish militia in northern Syria say they are planning to oppose advances by Turkish-backed forces, a day after senior Turkish officials said all would be confronted as "terrorists".
In a series of statements on Twitter on Friday, the Bob Crow Brigade said that its members were leaving the Raqqa front, where they had been fighting the Islamic State (IS) group, to travel to Manbij, a town in northern Aleppo that the YPG took from IS last month, and where pro-Turkish forces now are massing. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/british-ypg-volunteers-head-manbij-face-turkish-forces-1840728706
Turkish terror attacks on Rojava land kill 6, wound 6 others
Occupant Turkish military forces have launched an attack targeting the border villages in Raco district of Rojava's Efrîn city starting from 18:00 Wednesday evening.
The ongoing Turkish aggression with howitzers, mortars and heavy weapons has killed 5 Erka Xweparastinê (self-defense forces) members and one member of Asayish (public security) forces. At least 6 other people have been wounded in the ongoing attack, who reportedly include 2 Erka Xweparastinê, 2 civilians and 2 Asayish members.
Turkish PM orders further massacres along the borders
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım addressed the governors of 81 provinces, ordering further massacres along Turkey's borders.
Speaking at the Governors' meeting in Ankara, Yıldırım stated that they have entered a new process with regards to the war policies they call counter terrorism. Reiterating the order he recently gave to the troops in Hakkari, Yıldırım said: This is a process of offensive, not defense.
The Prime Minister of Turkey instructed new Roboski massacres, saying; "We will secure our border gates. Every crossing from outside the border gates is an enemy crossing that will be retaliated immediately. Such a crossing is an unlawfulness and a crime, against which what is necessary will be done, in the same manner the attacks of enemies are retaliated. https://anfenglish.com/news/turkish-pm-orders-further-massacres-along-the-borders
....US special forces soldiers were reportedly forced to flee a town in northern Syria after Free Syrian Army fighters threatened to "slaughter" them for their "invasion", according to videos and reports posted on social media on Friday About 25 US soldiers were reportedly working with Turkish forces as they advanced on al-Rai, Aleppo, in preparation for an offensive against nearby al-Bab, which is controlled by the Islamic State group.
The FSA is allied with Turkish forces and ostensibly supported by the US as a "moderate" rebel group fighting against the government of Bashar al-Assad.
However, Friday's confrontation highlights the complex nature of the war in Syria.
Our troops will advance toward al-Bab city. This will be our next military target. We want to completely liberate this city," said Ahmed Sultan, deputy commander of the Army of Revolutionaries, an affiliate of the Kurdish-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Kurds step up attacks as cold war with Iran threatens to spark
For a man lucky to be alive, Kheder Pakdaman is remarkably calm. Speaking on a phone from his party's headquarters in the Iraqi town of Koya, the veteran guerilla commander quietly recounts yet another deadly encounter with Iran's armed forces.
On 6 September, Pakdaman was leading a group of Kurdish fighters into the town of Sardasht in western Iran, when gunfire erupted and his unit was pinned down by a hail of bullets.
Shengal Coordination statement on the murder of two peshmergas
Shengal Coordination issued a written statement about the death of two volunteer peshmergas in their 60s in Shengal, and emphasized that the peshmergas bodies were found between two KDP Asayish checkpoints. In its statement, the Coordination recalled the recent statements Turkey has made on Shengal, and underlined that regional intelligence agencies have planned and carried out provocative actions in the region. Shengal Coordination recalled that the disappeared peshmergas were earth digger operators over 60 years old, and said that it was inhumane and immoral to massacre two people that patriotically serve their land, dump their bodies on the side of the road, and steal their guns and vehicles. Shengal Coordination remarked that the statements that accuse the Coordination for the event, that are mostly made on Rudaw media group, show that the killers had a purpose of blaming the Coordination for the murders. https://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/shengal-coordination-statement-on-the-murder-of-two-peshmergas
Kadri Gursel writes that the Turkish governments purge following the attempted July 15 coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expanded beyond presumed supporters of Fethullah Gulen to include alleged followers and sympathizers of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The Interior Ministry this month replaced 24 mayors for supporting the PKK, which is a designated terrorist organization in Turkey, as well as its affiliate, the Kurdistan Communities Union. Half of those removed from office are already in jail awaiting trial. Gursel explains that the mayors were elected in the March 2014 local elections on the ticket of the Peace and Democracy Party, which soon became the Democratic Regions Party (DBP). The same year, the Kurdish movement, teaming up with some elements of the Turkish left, created the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP), which aspired for a nationwide outreach. While the DBP focused on local administrations, the HDP won parliamentary representation in the two general elections last year to become the voice of the Kurds in national politics.
British YPG fighters 'head to Manbij to face Turkish forces'
A brigade of British volunteers fighting with a US-backed Kurdish militia in northern Syria say they are planning to oppose advances by Turkish-backed forces, a day after senior Turkish officials said all would be confronted as "terrorists".
In a series of statements on Twitter on Friday, the Bob Crow Brigade said that its members were leaving the Raqqa front, where they had been fighting the Islamic State (IS) group, to travel to Manbij, a town in northern Aleppo that the YPG took from IS last month, and where pro-Turkish forces now are massing. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/british-ypg-volunteers-head-manbij-face-turkish-forces-1840728706
First IS, then Iran: Kurdish-Iranian leader has eyes on ultimate goal
As noted Sept. 12 in Al-Monitor, in Ankara hardening anti-PKK strategy, the Turkish government, confident in its declaration of a state of emergency and experience gained in its struggle against the Gulen movement, has settled on a strategy of total liquidation of the PKK to the exclusion of attempts at deterrence. In this regard, Ankara last month introduced on the battlefield the Turkish-made medium-altitude, long-endurance Bayraktar TB2 armed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The drone's manufacturer, Baykar Makina, is owned by President Recep Tayyip Erdogans son-in-law Selcuk Bayraktar. https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/10/turkey-pkk-learn-from-isis-drones.html
ISIS emir Abdullah: Turks are the MVPs of ISIS
ISIS emir Ahmet Osman Abdullah, code name Ebu Omer Ceza, who surrendered to the YPG made striking confessions on Turkey-ISIS relations.
ISIS emir Ahmet Osman Abdullah escaped from ISIS in 2015 and surrendered to the YPG and has been arrested for some 10 months. Ahmet Osman Abdullah spoke about why he joined ISIS, what he saw once he was there, the conflicts he experienced, the relationship between ISIS and the Turkish state and why he surrendered to the YPG. https://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/isis-emir-abdullah-turks-are-the-mvps-of-isis
Shehba people: Turkish army and affiliated gangs force us to migrate
Civilians from Shehba region who have been through a forced displacement due to the attacks of the Turkish state and affiliated gangs spoke to ANHA.
The displaced civilians stated that Turkish jets bombed their villages and made the affiliated gangs attack them with the goal of invading the region.
Kurdish protests continue in Iran despite government crackdown
Iranian paramilitary forces arrested dozens of Kurdish activists on Friday amid continuing anti-government protests.
The demonstrations broke out last Tuesday in Irans restive Kurdish region. Hundreds of angry Kurds took to the streets in the cities of Mariwan and Mahabad to condemn suppression by the Iranian authorities. The protests have now spread to other cities, including Sanandaj, the capital of Kordestan Province. https://aranews.net/2016/10/kurdish-protests-continue-in-iran-government-crackdown-escalates/
Turkey: Army kills up to 200 YPG fighters in Aleppo
The Turkish military said its fighter jets hit Syrian Kurdish targets in northern Syria, and killed up to 200 fighters, according to state media.
The jets hit 18 targets in Maarrat Umm Hawsh, a region north of the city of Aleppo, the official news agency Anadolu said.
Quoting the army, the report claimed that between 160 and 200 fighters from the YPG (People's Protection Units) group were killed in the raids on Wednesday night.
A Syrian-Kurdish forces leader, however, said that while Turkish jets and artillery were attacking, no more than 10 fighters had been killed so far.
Rojava Coordination condemns Turkeys attacks on Efrîn and Shehba
Rojava Cantons General Coordination has condemned Turkish fighter jets intervention and attacks on Shehba and Efrîn in a written statement. The Coordination stated that with these attacks, Turkey has proven once more that they are protecting ISIS.
The Coordinations statement is as follows:
Last night, Turkish fighter jets started bombing the Um Al-Qura, Um Al-Hosh and Al-Hesiye villages in the Shehba region liberated from the gangs by Revolutionary Forces intensely. The bombing occurred a few hours after the Revolutionary Forces liberated 5 villages around the Shehba Dam and one cell tower belonging to Syriatel company form the gangs. Bombing of the region and villages in the Efrin Canton continues. Dozens of civilians have lost their lives in the attacks.
As the Rojava Cantons Democratic Autonomous Administration General Coordination, we condemn this intervention by Turkey. We will defend the civilians in Northern Syria with all our means. Turkey has shown once again with these practices that they are protecting ISIS gangs and that they are not in favor of villages in the Shehba region to be liberated from the ISIS gangs.
With these practices, Turkey has trampled international law. We are calling on the peoples of the world, the UN, US, Russia, international law associations and NGOs to break the silence in the face of this situation and pressure Turkey to stop their attacks on Rojava.
Nach den Journalisten werden die HDP-Vertreter verhaftet
Nach der Schließung fast aller kritischen Medien stehen nun die Parteibüros und Politiker der HDP/DBP im Fokus. Beim Militär sind es die Soldaten der türkischen Nato-Truppen https://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/49/49749/1.html
Did Putin give green light to Turkish attack on US-backed Syrian Kurds?
Tukish jets launched a massive assault on Peoples Protection Units (YPG) forces in northern Syria on Oct. 20 to prevent the Syrian Kurdish group from taking the strategic town of al-Bab in northwestern Syria.
If the YPG, which is linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), seizes al-Bab, there would be a corridor connecting Syrian Kurdish regions east and west of the Euphrates River something Turkey has vowed not to let happen.
Amberin Zaman reported that the strikes mark the second time Turkey has attacked the YPG from the air, raising interesting questions about Ankaras relations with Russia and with the Syrian regime. YPG sources who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity said Turkey is unlikely to have initiated the strikes without informing Russia, whose planes effectively control the skies over northwestern Syria. Russia and Turkey are on opposite sides of the Syrian conflict, but Ankaras fears of the emergence of a PKK-run Kurdish entity along its borders appear to have surpassed its desire to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. This is one of the main reasons Turkey was so keen to patch up ties with Russia, and some claim with Damascus, after downing a Russian jet over the Syrian border last year. https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/10/russia-putin-green-light-attack-turkey-kurds-syria.html
Iraqi Kurds step into Ankara-Baghdad row
The deepening row between Turkey and Iraq took a further turn as Baghdad requested an emergency session of the UN Security Council to review what it considers the illegal presence of Turkish troops at the Bashiqa camp near Mosul, while a top Turkish official claimed the soldiers were there at the request of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/10/turkey-iraq-row-deepens-mosul-krg-kurds-isis.html
Joining the fight against ISIS is a moral obligation: French YPG member
Julian is a 23-year-old French fighter who has enlisted in the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG). He is known among his Kurdish comrades by his nom de guerre, Heval Shoresh.
Iranian Kurds see no change in Iran, opt for armed struggle
The Iranian Kurds see no difference in the repressive mentality of Iran since the assassination of Sadegh Saharafkani, 24 years ago, and that this is the reason they launched their armed struggle again inside Iran, a senior Kurdish politician from Iranian Kurdistan told ARA News.
On Saturday, Kurds revived the 24th anniversary of the assassination of Sharafkandi, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party-Iran (KDP-I). He was murdered by assassins at Berlins Mykonos restaurant on September 17, 1992, along with two of his deputies.https://aranews.net/2016/09/iranian-kurds-see-no-change-iran-opt-armed-struggle/
Der Author mein als wäre ganze KRG die Talabani politik unterstürtz, aber wie unten jemand hat geschrieben es gibt bei dem Krg die gegen diesen Politk ist ...
(The article is superficially fine.
The weak point in it is that it equals Barzani (and implicitly his family dominated KDP) with the KRG.
This is patently incorrect.
The PUK and its ally Gorran control Suleymania, Halabja and Kirkuk provinces, both politically and militarily and are closer to Iran and Baghdad and allied to the PKK.
The position of Barzani within the KRG is politically unsure as his present presidency is illegal and disputed by all KRG parties except for his own KRG.)
Kirkuk officials deny displacing Arabs in anti-IS operation
A look at battle for Raqqa from a Kurdish perspective
Following the operation launched to liberate Mosul from the Islamic State for Iraq and Syria, an expedited operation code-named Wrath of the Euphrates was initiated to liberate the IS stronghold of Raqqa in Syria. Ankara has been perceptibly upset since it became known that the Raqqa operation was initiated by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces despite earlier optimistic predictions that Ankara, which was sidelined from the Mosul operation, would be in partnership with the United States at Raqqa https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/11/turkey-syria-euphrates-from-kurdish-perspective.html
Raqqa: Syrian Arab fighters pull out of Kurd-led offensive
The Syrian Arab component of forces attacking Raqqa have withdrawn from operations, declaring Kurdish forces had broken an agreement to allow them to lead the charge into the Islamic State (IS) group-held city.
In a statement released only days after the "Euphrate's Wrath" offensive began, Liwa Thuaar Raqqa (Raqqa revolutionary brigade) said it would no longer fight alongside the Kurdish YPG militia.
YPG Press Office stated that Turkish troops have intensified their attacks on YPG forces and Rojava soil since the beginning of the Operation Wrath of Euphrates. YPG said the Turkish state wanted to harm the YPG fighters as they have started an operation to liberate Raqqa from ISIS.
News of arrests of YPG-linked Czechs shocks Turkey
Prague is a favorite honeymoon destination for Turkish newlyweds, and the Czech Republic is generally idealized in Turkey as a mecca of beautiful women and febrile intellectuals, all sipping the countrys famous brews. It must have therefore come as something of a shock for many Turks to read the headline news today that two Czech terrorists had been arrested in the predominantly Kurdish town of Sirnak, in southeastern Turkey. https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/11/turkey-czech-arrest-terrorists-kurdish-sirnak-ypg.html
Soldiers and police burn a house: One woman burned to death in Erciş
Turkish soldiers and police raided Ahmet Atamans home in Çelibibağı neighborhood in Vans Erciş district in the middle of the night. The Ataman family stated that the house had been set on fire. Nurettin Ataman said his brother Ahmet Ataman and brothers wife Hediye Ataman were inside the house and that Hediye Atamans burned body was retrieved from the house that was torn down with diggers in the morning. https://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/soldiers-and-police-burn-a-house-one-woman-burned-to-death-in-ercis-1
Med Nuçe and Newroz TV won, Eutelsat and Turkey lost
Raqqa activist group RBSS under scrutiny for making pro-ISIS propaganda
The activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS) is coming under increased scrutiny for making pro-ISIS propaganda and ethnic chauvinism, and trying to undermine the SDF-led campaign to capture Raqqa from ISIS.
Sharvan Darwish, spokesman of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Tuesday accused the RBSS of distorting events in Raqqa, saying the group is competing with Nazi propaganda and Turkish government propaganda instead of focusing on the Raqqa civilians liberated from ISIS terrorists by the SDF forces.