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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Turkey hit SDF positions to prevent Kurds reaching al-Bab, say security sources
2016-10-22
[RUDAW.NET] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
 carried out Arclight airstrikes on Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF) positions in northern Syria in order to prevent Kurdish forces from reaching al-Bab, according to security sources.

Turkish officials issued an ultimatum to the People’s Protection Units (YPG) after they began to advance towards al-Bab, giving them until 8:00 Wednesday evening to withdraw to the previous position, Hurriyet Daily News reported Turkish security forces saying on Friday on the condition of anonymity.

The Turkish military claimed to have killed up to 200 fighters in Arclight airstrikes over Wednesday night.

The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) reported on Twitter that Turkish planes had carried out at least 14 Arclight airstrikes, bombing positions of the Jaish al-Thuwar, a member of the SDF, near the border of Efrin, the western-most canton of the Rojava, the self-autonomous region of northern Syria.

The YPG and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported much lower casualty figures of between 10 and 15.

Russia has expressed concern
...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended...
ed about Turkey’s actions, the country’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.

"As for reports of Turkish Air Force Arclight airstrikes in northern Syrian regions, we have heard about these statements. We are very alarmed about what is happening. As I understand it, we are talking about attacks on areas inhabited by the Kurds," Lavrov said at a briefing, according to Sputnik News.

Lavrov pointed out that Turkey is a member of the US-led multinational coalition fighting Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
 (ISIS) holy warriors and urged Washington to "remain within the stated objective as commanders of the coalition."
Posted by:Fred

#3  In modern Turkey the attitude has been that they are allowed to live so long as they are merely loyal Mountain Turks, rather than insisting in a separate identity as Kurds, Dr. Steve.
Posted by: trailing wife   2016-10-22 18:23  

#2  My questions (and I think Pappy is right) --

1) why would Turkey want more Kurds?

2) given that there is no answer to #1, what do they plan to do with the Kurds in the parts of Syria and Iraq that they annex?
Posted by: Steve White   2016-10-22 13:44  

#1  I suspect the Turks have staked out several territories in Syria and Iraq and are engaged in securing them.
Posted by: Pappy   2016-10-22 10:03  

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