Turkey bombards Syrian Kurdish militia, thousands flee as death toll mounts

[snoop1130]

Turkey bombards Syrian Kurdish militia, thousands flee as death toll mounts

By Daren Butler

 

Members of Syrian National Army, known as Free Syrian Army, drive in an armored vehicle in the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, October 11, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer

 

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish warplanes and artillery hit Kurdish militia targets in northeast Syria on the third day of an offensive that has killed hundreds of people, forced tens of thousands to flee and turned Washington’s establishment against President Donald Trump.

 

The incursion, launched after Trump withdrew U.S. troops who had been fighting alongside Kurdish forces against Islamic State militants, has opened a new front in the eight-year-old Syrian civil war and drawn fierce international criticism.

 

In Washington, Trump suggested that the United States could mediate in the conflict. He also raised the possibility of imposing tough sanctions on Turkey.

 

On Friday morning, Turkish warplanes and artillery struck around Syria’s Ras al Ain, one of two border towns that have been the focus of the offensive.

 

Gunfire could also be heard inside the town, said a Reuters journalist in Ceylanpinar, on the Turkish side of the border.

 

A convoy of 20 armored vehicles carrying Turkish-allied Syrian rebels entered Syria from Ceylanpinar on Friday, he said. Some made victory signs, shouted “Allahu akbar” (God is greatest) and waved Syrian rebel flags as they advanced towards Ras al Ain.

 

Some 120 km (75 miles) west, Turkish howitzers resumed shelling near the Syrian town of Tel Abyad, a witness said.

 

“In these moments, Tel Abyad is seeing the most intense battles in three days,” Marvan Qamishlo, a spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said.

 

SDF forces had recovered a hamlet early in the morning, he said.

 

The International Rescue Committee aid group said 64,000 people in Syria have fled since the campaign began. Ras al Ain and Darbasiya, some 60 km (37 miles) to the east, were largely deserted.

 

Turkey’s Defence Ministry said that in overnight operations the Turkish military and its Syrian rebel allies killed 49 Kurdish militants. It says it has killed 277 militants in total.

 

The ministry said one Turkish soldier was killed in a clash on Thursday during the offensive, which is targeting the SDF, which is led by the Kurdish YPG militia.

 

Overnight, clashes erupted at different points along the border from Ain Diwar at the Iraqi frontier to Kobani, more than 400 km to the west. Turkish and SDF forces exchanged shelling in Qamishli among other places, the SDF’s Qamishlo said.

 

“The whole border was on fire,” he said.

 

At least 29 fighters with the SDF and 17 fighters with a Turkish-backed Syrian rebel group had been killed, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war.

 

In Syria’s al Bab, some 150 km west of the offensive, some 500 Syrian rebels were set to head to Turkey to join the operation, CNN Turk reported. It broadcast video of the rebels performing Muslim prayers in military fatigues, their rifles laid down in front of them, before departing for Turkey.

 

The SDF said Turkish air strikes and shelling had killed nine civilians. In apparent retaliation by Kurdish-led forces, six people including a 9-month-old baby were killed by mortar fire into Turkish towns, Turkish officials said.

 

The Observatory said Turkish forces seized two villages near Ras al Ain and five near Tel Abyad. A Syrian rebel forces spokesman said the towns were surrounded after fighters seized the villages around them.

 

NATO member Turkey says the operation is necessary for border security against the YPG militia, which it designates a terrorist group because of ties to militants who have waged a decades-old insurgency in southeast Turkey in which more than 40,000 people have been killed.

 

Ankara has also said it intends to create a “safe zone” for the return of millions of refugees to Syria.

 

ISLAMIC STATE CAPTIVES

 

The SDF have been the main allies of U.S. forces on the ground in the battle against Islamic State since 2014. They have been holding thousands of captured IS fighters in prisons and tens of thousands of their relatives in detention.

 

Trump said in a Twitter post on Thursday: “We have one of three choices: Send in thousands of troops and win Militarily, hit Turkey very hard Financially and with Sanctions, or mediate a deal between Turkey and the Kurds!”.

 

“I hope we can mediate,” Trump said when asked about the options by reporters at the White House.

 

Without elaborating, he said the United States was “going to possibly do something very, very tough with respect to sanctions and other financial things” against Turkey.

 

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has called for an emergency meeting of the coalition of more than 30 countries created to fight Islamic State. France’s European affairs minister said next week’s European Union summit will discuss sanctions on Turkey over its action in Syria.

 

SDF forces were still in control of all prisons with Islamic State captives, a senior U.S. State Department official said.

 

The United States has received a high-level commitment from Turkey on taking responsibility for Islamic State captives but had not yet had detailed discussions, the official said.

 

U.S. lawmakers have said Trump gave Erdogan the green light to go into Syria but the official disputed that. “We gave them a very clear red light, I’ve been involved in those red lights and I know the president did that on Sunday,” the official said.

 

Trump has faced rare criticism from senior figures in his Republican Party who accuse him of deserting U.S. allies.

 

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican who usually backs Trump, has been one of the most outspoken critics of the U.S. troop withdrawal. He announced a framework for sanctions on Turkey with Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen.

 

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey would retaliate against any measure taken against it.

 

(Graphic: Where Kurds live, here)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-10-11

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[legend49]

Genocide.

[nobodysfriend]

The Kurds have been ( are still ) , Americas allies . They did a great job fighting IS .

That is how Trump rewards them ...?

Erdogan is an autocratic leader who wants to erase them all , he said that before and he is tying to do that now .

Trump just let him do that ... I remember Trump said that he will ' destroy ' Turkey's economy if the Kurds are attacked ...

So , now is the time to do that .

But , as usual , it is all bla bla only ... if you believe this guy , you are lost , there is not a grain of honor in him , his actions contradict what he was saying before ,

Trump is confused and should be impeached . The sooner , the better .

[RichardColeman]

I'm at a loss to understand why the kurds don't build a human shield made of the ISIS fighters they have

[Tug]

Thanks Donald for shaming us yet again he to be gone ASAP 

[Sujo]

What a deplorable way to treat an ally that has done the fighting on your behalf.

 

absolutely disgraceful.

[Sticky Wicket]

17 minutes ago, Sujo said:

What a deplorable way to treat an ally that has done the fighting on your behalf.

 

absolutely disgraceful.

Do you think they should have stayed permanently? 

If not, when would have been a good time to withdraw them?

[ExpatOilWorker]

3 minutes ago, Sticky Wicket said:

Do you think they should have stayed permanently? 

If not, when would have been a good time to withdraw them?

The US had no problem hanging around Japan and Korea long after then guns have fallen silence, so keeping a garrison near the Kurds might build some hearts and minds which could lead to peace over time.

[Sticky Wicket]

13 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

The US had no problem hanging around Japan and Korea long after then guns have fallen silence, so keeping a garrison near the Kurds might build some hearts and minds which could lead to peace over time.

Do you think Trump acted unilaterally or from advice from a general?

[Gulfsailor]

6 minutes ago, Sticky Wicket said:

Do you think Trump acted unilaterally or from advice from a general?

Putin only made it to the rank of lieutenant colonel. 

[nobodysfriend]

2 minutes ago, Sticky Wicket said:

Do you think Trump acted unilaterally or from advice from a general?

May be he wanted to protect his property in Turkey .

[bristolboy]

10 minutes ago, Sticky Wicket said:

Do you think Trump acted unilaterally or from advice from a general?

Well, we know Mattis quit because of Trump's first drawdown of troops.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-announces-mattis-will-leave-as-defense-secretary-at-the-end-of-february/2018/12/20/e1a846ee-e147-11e8-ab2c-b31dcd53ca6b_story.html

Maybe Trump did find himself a general. But it's dubious that the consensus of the Defence Dept. is in favor of this move.

[samran]

Genocide is clearly an acceptable cost to divert attention from trumps impeachment news. 

[Pedrogaz]

This has all the potential to be a major catastrophe. Starting wars, not for defense of one's country, but for regime change is like opening Pandora's box. 

So US/Saudi/Israel train, arm and fund terrorists to attack Syria to get rid of Assad....and now we are facing genocide of Kurds at the hands of the Turks. 

Our leaders are idiots. And the voters? Well let's say to keep voting for wars is as bad as being a warmonger.

[Pedrogaz]

2 hours ago, Sticky Wicket said:

Do you think they should have stayed permanently? 

If not, when would have been a good time to withdraw them?

People should ask more questions like these. It is also not a good idea to start a war when you have no exit strategy.

[stevenl]

2 hours ago, Sticky Wicket said:

Do you think Trump acted unilaterally or from advice from a general?

I think Erdogan told him 'we're going in whether your people are there or not', and Trump simply gave in.

[JamesBlond]

2 hours ago, nobodysfriend said:

The Kurds have been ( are still ) , Americas allies . They did a great job fighting IS .

That is how Trump rewards them ...?

Erdogan is an autocratic leader who wants to erase them all , he said that before and he is tying to do that now .

Trump just let him do that ... I remember Trump said that he will ' destroy ' Turkey's economy if the Kurds are attacked ...

So , now is the time to do that .

But , as usual , it is all bla bla only ... if you believe this guy , you are lost , there is not a grain of honor in him , his actions contradict what he was saying before ,

Trump is confused and should be impeached . The sooner , the better .

Everyone's thoughts on the Kurdish situation might have more plausibility if they weren't simply in the service of an anti-Trump agenda. Is anyone capable of non-partisan thinking?

 

Kurds are a quarter of Turkey's population and there are many more than that across the region. Erdogan cannot "erase them all" any more than the English can erase the N. Ireland Catholics. Turkey wants to drive a wedge between its own Kurdish population and the rest for its own internal security. It probably won't be a big help, but this game is all about pride. The demilitarised zone in Korea has helped defuse tensions. Something similar in this part of the world would help.

 

If ISIS rise again, then the US will go back in. Fine. For now, this is for the Turks and the Kurds to sort out. The only practical, realistic long-term solution is for the Kurds to learn to live with their Turkish hosts. In the meantime, the world needs to sort out its border issues to prevent the threat of mass migrations. It's beginning to look like some groups are deliberately stoking conflict in order to give them an excuse for diaspora.

 

[Sujo]

2 hours ago, Sticky Wicket said:

Do you think they should have stayed permanently? 

If not, when would have been a good time to withdraw them?

It was only 50 troops there but they had the impact of turkey afraid to do anything. Keeping them there was priceless to the Kurds but cost US about as much as a good night out in walking st.

 

To top it off the turks have just bombed some US troops there.

 

Trump has also now deployed troops to saudi.

[sungod]

8 minutes ago, JamesBlond said:

Everyone's thoughts on the Kurdish situation might have more plausibility if they weren't simply in the service of an anti-Trump agenda. Is anyone capable of non-partisan thinking?

 

Yep, me.

 

You just dont treat friends like this.

[samran]

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

“I hope we can mediate,” Trump said when asked about the options by reporters at the White House.

Well done Donald, create a problem so you can pretend trying to fix it. Who cares if people die?

 

Basically the theme his entire presidency.

[OJAS]

19 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Ankara has also said it intends to create a “safe zone” for the return of millions of refugees to Syria.

Not to mention its ISIS "pals" - to whom it is, in effect, giving considerable succour and comfort through this military action.

[OJAS]

3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

I'm at a loss to understand why the kurds don't build a human shield made of the ISIS fighters they have

Well that would almost certainly result in an immediate ceasefire on Turkey's part, I think, since there would be absolutely no way in which they would wish to inflict any harm on their ISIS "bosom pals", would they?

[nobodysfriend]

51 minutes ago, JamesBlond said:

The only practical, realistic long-term solution is for the . In the meantime, Kurds to learn to live with their Turkish hosts

Sorry , but I do not think that they want to forget all that suffering and all the countless deaths that they suffered under Erdogan .

 

 

They want their own state , a little bit like the palestinians ... That state would cover a part of eastern Turkey and a part of Irak .

They fought for a long time for this , but Erdogan suppressed them ... there is no possibility of " Kurds to learn to live with their Turkish hosts " , never !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[nobodysfriend]

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-middle-east-50009345/why-is-turkey-bombing-the-kurds-in-syria

[zaZa9]

Maybe Ive been missing a lot - but if the Kurds in Turkey have been continuously and violently committing acts of terrorism , then I must have been slept through it !

There appears to me no justification for Turkeys actions except 'old animosities' , or political expediency for Erdogan.

 

"Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio noted that "at request of this administration the Kurds served as the primary ground fighters against ISIS in Syria so U.S. troops wouldn't have to."

 

Despicable behaviour from an ally !

 

 

[Srikcir]

1 hour ago, JamesBlond said:

The only practical, realistic long-term solution is for the Kurds to learn to live with their Turkish hosts.

How do Kurds learn to live with Turkey when Turkey wants genocide?

https://thekurdishproject.org/history-and-culture/kurdish-history/kurdistan-genocide/

 

[JulesMad]

5 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

I'm at a loss to understand why the kurds don't build a human shield made of the ISIS fighters they have

The Kurds are a proud people of fighters, no cowards at all. They have a code of honor, they are nothing like ISIS or usa

[jany123]

4 hours ago, Sticky Wicket said:

Do you think they should have stayed permanently? 

If not, when would have been a good time to withdraw them?

The best time might be at some point after a meeting of these partners... not before.

 

21 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has called for an emergency meeting of the coalition of more than 30 countries created to fight Islamic State

 

4 hours ago, Sticky Wicket said:

Do you think Trump acted unilaterally or from advice from a general?

Regards the alliance, as close to unilaterally as makes a difference. Regards his temporarily appointed flunkies... as close to unilaterally as makes a difference.

[JamesBlond]

2 hours ago, Srikcir said:

How do Kurds learn to live with Turkey when Turkey wants genocide?

https://thekurdishproject.org/history-and-culture/kurdish-history/kurdistan-genocide/

 

The Turks don't want genocide, they want everyone to live peaceably in Turkey. If the Kurds stopped revolting within Turkey there would be no problem. It's too late for them to have their own state (or would you like to suggest where the borders should be?). If the Kurds are choosing to live in eternal conflict for the sake of their pride - then the result is what we are seeing today and it will go on forever. 

 

And for everyone who keeps saying the Kurds are the US's allies - they were allies in the war against ISIS, not against Turkey, which don't forget is a member of NATO.

[captpkapoor]

And do you know who has fully supported Erdogan's actions, made a personal call to him, assuring him of full support? Imran Khan, prime minister of Pakistan!!