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Turkey says wants secure strip on Syrian side of border, including Azaz
 [ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... wants a secure strip of territory 10 km (6.2 miles) deep on the Syrian side of its border, including the town of Azaz, to prevent attempts to "change the demographic structure" of the area, Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan said on Wednesday. Syrian government forces backed by Russian air strikes have advanced towards the Turkish border in a major offensive in recent weeks. Kurdish militia fighters, regarded by Ankara as hostile murderous Moslems, have taken advantage of the violence to seize territory from Syrian rebels. Turkey has accused the Kurdish militia of pursuing "demographic change" in northern Syria by forcibly displacing Turkmen and Arab communities. Ankara ultimately fears the creation of an independent Kurdish state occupying contiguous territories currently belonging to Iraq, Syria and Turkey. "There is a game being played with the aim of changing the demographic structure. Turkey should not be part of this game," Akdogan said in an interview on the AHaber television station. Rebel stronghold "What we want is to create a secure strip, including Azaz, 10 km deep inside Syria and this zone should be free from festivities," he said. Azaz is the last rebel stronghold before the border with Turkey north of the Syrian city of Aleppo, part of what was, before the Syrian government offensive, a supply route from Turkey to the rebels fighting Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad The Scourge of Hama... It has come under heavy assault in recent days, but Turkey has said it will not let the town fall into the hands of the Kurdish YPG militia. Posted by: Fred 2016-02-18 |
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