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Turkey’s Erdogan vows to press offensive on U.S.-backed Kurds …

ISTANBUL Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Monday to keep up an offensive against U.S.-backed Kurdish militias in Syria, rejecting American calls for restraint and boasting of a deal with Russia to press ahead with the assault.

Erdogans defiant message underscored the deepening rift between the NATO allies over the Kurdish militias and signaled a possible escalation of the latest tensions in Syrias seven-year conflict.

Turkey sees the Syrian Kurdish fighters as linked to insurgents fighting for Kurdish autonomy at home. Washington, meanwhile, has turned to the Syrian Kurds as a proxy force against the Islamic State and a bulwark against efforts by the extremists to reclaim territory.

Turkey on Saturday announced an air and ground offensive to rout the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, from Afrin, an enclave near the Turkish border. U.S. officials quickly called on Turkey to limit the scope and duration of the operation to avoid civilian casualties.

We appreciate their right to defend themselves, but this is a tough situation where there are a lot of civilians mixed in, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters while traveling from London to Paris, according to a pool report.

[Turkey opens offensive against Syrian Kurds]

Turkey has legitimate concerns about terrorists crossing the border into Turkey and carrying out attacks, he said, adding that the United States has asked Turkey to just try to be precise, try to limit your operation, try to show some restraint.

But Erdogan offered little suggestion that Turkey would scale back its offensive. We are determined. Afrin will be sorted out. We will take no step back, he said at a meeting of business leaders in Turkeys capital, Ankara. Without elaborating, he said Turkey had reached an agreement with Russia whose forces back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over the operation.

America says the timing [of the operation] should be clear, Erdogan continued. Well, was your timing in Afghanistan clear? Is your time in Iraq done?

Syrian Kurdish officials said Monday that at least 13 civilians and three Kurdish fighters had been killed since the operation started. Turkey also deployed allied Syrian rebels to help in the fight.

It was unclear, however, how far Turkey or its proxy forces had advanced on Afrin or surrounding Kurdish areas. Turkish officials said this weekend that the goal was to create a secure zone along the border.

In Afrin, a spokesman for the YPG, Nouri Mahmoud, denounced Russia for apparently giving a green light to the Turkish attacks. This is an unethical position from the Russian forces, he said at a news conference.

U.S. officials say the YPG militia played an essential role in ousting Islamic State militants from several areas of Syria.

They have proven their effectiveness, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters Sunday enroute to Southeast Asia.

It has cost them thousands of casualties, he said. But you have watched them, with the coalition support, shred [the] ISIS caliphate in Syria. ISIS is an acronym for the Islamic State.

Alex Horton in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Heba Habib in Stockholm contributed to this report.

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Turkey's Erdogan vows to press offensive on U.S.-backed Kurds ...

President Erdogan defends Turkey’s offensive in Syria | Euronews

There has been intense fighting as Turkish troops and their allies advance on a Kurdish enclave in Syria.

Ankara's offensive aimed at ousting the US-backed Kurdish militia from the area has now entered its fourth day

The Turkish mission named Operation Olive Branch, has heightened tensions in the already complicated Syrian conflict, further straining ties between Turkey and the US.

Turkey considers the Kurdish YPG fighters as allies of Kurdish insurgents back home. It's aim is to create a 30-kilometre wide "secure zone" in Afrin, the Kurdish-controlled enclave that straddles its borders.

On Monday ( Jan 22) Turkey's southern border town of Kilis was struck by a missile fired from within Syria.

In all 14 missiles have landed on the town since Turkey began its military operation, wounding 8 people.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has defended the offensive on Afrin saying there will be no pulling back:

"Afrin will be settled," he said. "There will be no let up until the operation is complete. We have discussed this with our Russian friends, we have an agreement."

A representative of Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government, Jawidan Hassan, has condemned the ongoing operation by Turkish troops.

"We consider what is happening in Afrin a war against the whole of humanity. In this war, President Erdogan wants to break the will of the People's Protection Units (YPG), who have struggled against the terrorism of so- called Islamic State group on behalf of the whole world."

Some reports say at east 80 people have been killed in the fighting since Saturday. International reaction has been to call for restraint and concern has been raised over civilians caught up in the fighting.

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President Erdogan defends Turkey's offensive in Syria | Euronews

Erdogan accuses allies of sending thousands of planeloads …

Published time: 21 Jan, 2018 13:00 Edited time: 22 Jan, 2018 05:28

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has turned on Ankaras allies, insinuating that the US in particular has been providing massive military support to Kurdish YPG in Syria.

In a speech to his ruling AK Party Erdogan said that some allies of Turkey had provided the YPG Syrian Kurdish militia with 2,000 planeloads and 5,000 truckloads of weapons.

Now, apart from 5,000 trucks, there are weapons and ammunition from around 2,000 planes.the Turkish leader said. He also accused Ankaras allies of dishonesty when they say that they do not provide weapons forterrorists,referring to Kurdish-linked YPG forces.

The president also vowed to hand over Afrin to its real owners, explaining that he aims to return 3.5 million refugees back to Syria from Turkey as soon as possible.

READ MORE:Those who help Kurdish fighters in Afrin will become Turkeys targets PM Yildirim

This weekend, Turkey began operation Olive Branch against Kurdish forces in Afrin, deploying jets and land forces.

Turkey sees the YPG as being closely linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) whom the government considers terrorists.The United States is backing the YPG in Syria, seeing it as an effective partner in the fight against Islamic State.

However, the US stressed on Saturday that they are not supporting the PKK.We recognize Turkeys security concerns about the PKK, a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, Adrian Rankine-Galloway, the Pentagons spokesman said in a statement sent to the Anadolu Agency.

READ MORE: US backtracks on Kurdish border force, Turkey cites record of broken promises

Turkeys operation in Afrin follows Ankaras outrage over Americas recent claim (since retracted) that it would create a force to patrol the Turkey-Syria border.

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Erdogan accuses allies of sending thousands of planeloads ...

Turkey vs. the Kurds: Erdogan attacks U.S.-backed forces in …

As Turkey threatens a bloody confrontation with a U.S.-backed Kurdish militia in the main Syrian Kurdish enclave in northwestern Syria, it faces the challenge of maintaining its old alliance with Washington and reinforcing a new rapprochement with Moscow.

The move comes as Syria once again finds itself on the precipice of a new conflict, after months of reduced violence and a surge in post-war stabilization plans. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Syrians in the northwest are fleeing the renewed violence amid a new government offensive in neighboring Idlib, converging on the Turkish border and igniting fears of a new wave of migration.

Turkish warplanes hit 45 targets in northern Syria's Afrin region on Sunday, the military said, as ground forces pushed into the area in an operation targeting a U.S.-backed Kurdish militia.Iran responded quickly Sunday and called for a quick end to a Turkish incursion into northern Syria's Afrin province, saying it may help "terrorist" groups, state news agency IRNA reported.

A wider Turkish-Kurdish confrontation

Turkeys defense minister, Nurettin Canikli, said Friday there was no turning back from launching a ground assault on Syrias Afrin enclave, saying the offensive had de facto started with sporadic Turkish military shelling of the area. Over the last week, Turkey has sent troops and tanks to the border and rallied Syrian fighters it has backed for the fight against Afrins battle-hardened Kurdish fighters, estimated at between 8,000 and 10,000.

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The operation could spill into a wider Turkish-Kurdish confrontation inside Turkey. It also threatens to turn into a humanitarian disaster. The Afrin district houses no less than 800,000 civilians, including displaced people from earlier years of the Syrian war.

Turkey has been preparing for a showdown in Afrin for a while. But the recent escalation coincides with U.S. announcements that it is creating a new 30,000-strong Kurdish-led border force to secure the frontiers of Kurdish-controlled areas, including with Turkey and Iraq, to prevent the resurgence of Islamic State militants.

Where is Russia?

Moscows green light is necessary for a Turkish operation into Afrin, where Russian military observers have deployed since last year to prevent such a confrontation.

Activists and Kurdish fighters have denied claims in Turkish media that Russian troops have begun a withdrawal.

Russia, Iran and Turkey are interested in limiting the U.S. presence in Syria, and have protested Washingtons plans to create the border force, viewed as a U.S. attempt to create a buffer zone where Iranian and Syrian government influence ends.

"Unilateral actions" by the United States in Iran and Syria have infuriated Turkey, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Kommersant newspaper in an interview.

"Many political scientists are asking why do we care and say that the worst is the best: let the United States prove its inability to find an agreement, (to show) its destructive role in global affairs, let it be in Iran or Syria and where the unilateral actions have already infuriated Turkey," he said.

In the interview to Kommersant, conducted earlier this week and published on Sunday, Lavrov also said that an attempt by the U.S. via the possible new sanctions to change Russian foreign policy was 'unpromising'

Ankaras military operations in Syria began in 2016 in large part to curtail the formation of a contiguous territory under Kurdish control along its borders. It successfully severed that territorial continuity when it deployed its troops and proxy Syrian fighters to areas between Kurdish enclaves in eastern and western Syria.

Afrin remained the only Kurdish enclave in northwestern Syria, encircled by Turkey-backed rebels, and Turkey has been preparing an assault for over a year. Turkey claims that Afrin is an operating base for fighters of its own outlawed Kurdish insurgent group, the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, to infiltrate Turkish territories.

Erdogan on the attack

In dealing with the conflicts in Afrin and Idlib, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has shown political acumen, juggling national security interests and domestic election concerns, while exerting pressure on Washington and Moscow for his long-term strategic objectives. The threats of an offensive against Kurdish fighters help consolidate nationalist support for Erdogan, who faces a crucial election next year.

With an assault on Afrin, Turkey seeks to further undermine the Kurdish dream of federalized rule in northern Syria. Driving the Kurdish militia out of Afrin would also allow Turkey-backed Syrian fighters supporting its offensive to link Idlib to Syrias largest city, Aleppo.

Turkey deployed troops in November in Idlib to monitor a de-escalation agreement with Russia and Iran, but they were more strategically stationed along the border with Afrin.

The timing reflects Turkeys increased frustration with U.S. support for Kurdish forces in Syria, who are now in control of nearly 25 percent of the country, in areas that straddle the Turkish and Iraqi border.

Turkey remains a loyal and trusted friend and ally of the U.S. and the West. But that does not mean we will accept being treated as sacrificial animals just because a couple of American generals want to embark on an adventure in the Middle East, Ilnur Cevik, an Erdogan presidential adviser, wrote in the Turkish daily Sabah.

Will the U.S. respond?

Despite assurances to Turkey from State Secretary Rex Tillerson, who says the Kurdish-led border force has been misrepresented, there doesnt seem to be a major shift in U.S. policy in Syria.

If anything, he exacerbated it. Erdogan will perceive Tillersons announcement of longer term U.S. presence in Syria as doubling down on our partnership with (the Kurdish militia), which does not de-escalate the Turks, said Elizabeth Teoman, a Turkey researcher with the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.

The Trump administration has been urging Turkey not to attack Afrin, asking Turkish officials to avoid unilateral actions, said two U.S. officials, who werent authorized to discuss diplomatic conversations and demanded anonymity.

The U.S military doesnt have any presence in Afrin, one of the officials said, but a Turkish operation there could have an impact on U.S. operations further east in Syria. The U.S. worries that such an operation could prove to be a distraction from defeating the last vestiges of the Islamic State group, the officials said, adding that the new Kurdish-led border force is nothing new and should not come as a surprise to the Turkish government.

Meanwhile, Turkey has maneuvered to curtail a wide Russian-backed Syrian government military operation in Idlib the largest remaining insurgent-held area in Syria. The offensive has already caused tens of thousands to flee and has threatened to undermine Erdogans clout in the region.

Turkeys threatened ground assault in Afrin comes as the Idlib operation has intensified, with the Syrian government positioning rival troops near Turkeys forces there, threatening Turkey-backed Syrian insurgents in the province and creating conditions for a humanitarian disaster.

As the offensive has unfolded, Russian bases in Syria have come under unprecedented drone attacks, sparking tension between Moscow and Turkey amid accusations that such drones would have required assistance from a country possessing satellite navigation technology.

A Syrian Kurdish official, Ilham Ahmed, said the Russians were bargaining with Turkey over Afrin in exchange for allowing the government to take Idlib. Russia would prefer handing over Idlib to the Syrian government, instead of Turkey-backed opposition fighters. What to do with al-Qaida-linked group remains a dilemma for all parties, and is a sticking point between the U.S. and Turkey.

Last week, the government offensive in Idlib slowed down amid a counteroffensive from the rebel forces and bad weather. But the airstrikes continued and the number of the provinces displaced resident has reached about 215,000 since mid-December.

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Turkey vs. the Kurds: Erdogan attacks U.S.-backed forces in ...

Erdogan officially announces that Turkish military … – rt.com

Ankara has de facto begun its operation against Kurdish forces in Syrias Afrin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after the army called the military strike legitimate self-defense.

READ MORE:Turkish planes bomb Syrian Kurdish targets as Ankara-backed rebels enter Afrin

The Afrin operation has de facto been started on the ground, Erdogan said in a televised speech in the city of Kutahya, as cited by AFP.

This will be followed by Manbij, he added, referring to a Kurdish-controlled town in northern Syria, about 30 kilometers west of the Euphrates.

Both Afrin and Manbij are controlled by the YPG Syrian Kurdish militia.

The promises made to us over Manbij were not kept. So nobody can object if we do what is necessary, Erdogan said, referring to previous US assurances that the YPG would move out of Afrin.

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Later we will step-by-step clear our country up to the Iraqi border from this terror filth that is trying to besiege our country, he concluded.

The army said it shelled Kurdish positions in Syrias Afrin region on Friday and Saturday, destroying shelters and hideouts used by militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Syrias Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG).

In a written statement, the Turkish General Staff said the army hit the terrorist organizations shelters within the scope of legitimate self-defense, as cited by Turkish news agency Anadolu.

According to Ankara, Syrias Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its affiliate Peoples Protection Units (YPG) are allegedly linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey.

Turkeys Defense Minister said on Friday that Ankara has no option but to carry out a military operation in the north-western Syrian enclave of Afrin (a Kurdish-held area of Syria.) The minister added that the operation has actually de facto started with cross-border shelling.

According to Anadolu, at least ten howitzer shells were fired on targets in Syria by Turkish artillery deployed in the Kirikhan and Hassa districts of Hatay province. The Turkish military said they are preventing the creation of a terror corridor connecting Syrian Kurdish enclaves along the border.

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RIA Novosti cited an YPG source as saying on Friday that more than 70 artillery rockets coming from the Turkish side had landed in the Afrin area.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Monday that "the operation [in Afrin] may start at any time adding that operations into other regions will come after.

Turkeys allies should think twice before they consider helping what he called terrorists in Syria, Erdogan said.

We wont be responsible for the consequences, the Turkish leader warned.

On Friday, the main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, called on the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to put their faith in diplomacy before launching any military operation into Afrin.

If diplomacy is used, an agreement is reached, and aerial support is also provided, the problem can be solved. Otherwise, the problem would grow bigger and its cost for Turkey would be hefty, the lawmaker warned, as cited by Hurriyet newspaper.

On Thursday, Damascus warned Turkey against launching a military operation in Afrin, noting that Syrian air defenses are ready to defend against any acts of aggression.

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 said in a statement, as cited by Reuters.

The Syrian air defenses have restored their full force and they are ready to destroy Turkish aviation targets in Syrian Arab Republic skies, he added.

Over the past week, tanks and self-propelled howitzers have been arriving in the border areas inside Turkey, local media reported. Notably, the army has deployed signal jammers, indicating that the intervention might also include electronic warfare.

The looming military op in Afrin is a follow-up to Turkeys seven-month Euphrates Shield Operation that was meant to target Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) and drive Kurdish forces out of their enclaves in northern Syria.

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