Turkey’s implementation of safe zones east of Euphrates inevitable
The U.S. military presence east of the Euphrates River and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) threat is on the agenda of Turkey, Russia and Iran, the guarantors the Astana peace talks. Northern Syria’s Tell Rifaat and Manbij are hotbeds for the PKK/PYD terror group.
The priority regarding the west of the Euphrates is to clear Tell Rifaat of terror elements. It is expected that in the upcoming period, this region could also be demilitarized as a result of talks and military cooperation between Russia and Turkey.
While Turkey works to keep Idlib safe, it is also preparing to make a move regarding the outdated Manbij map.
The YPG-dominated SDF controls an area of about 53,000 square kilometers with a percentage of 28.6 of Syrian territory. The Turkish military cleared a 2,500 square mile (4,000 square kilometer) area from Daesh and YPG/PKK terrorists as part of the Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch operations in Syria.
Syrians living in towns occupied by the U.S-backed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terror organization have been suffering under grim conditions for over two years.The number of Syrians who have fled their homes has reached a staggering figure as terrorists continue their atrocities in east of the Euphrates, primarily in Raqqa, Hasakah and Manbij.Speaking exclusively to Yeni Şafak daily, Sobhi Dassouqi, a journalist in Raqqa, expressed his excitement on the recent Idlib deal brokered between Turkey and Russia in Sochi and said he was hopeful Raqqa would be next.Noting that PKK terrorists have been forcing children to take up arms, that they could not even go out onto the streets because of the terrorists’ harassment, and that their homes were being looted, he called on Turkey saying, “Save us from persecution.”N. Iraq: PKK terrorists' testimonies reveal child abuseCivilians face dire conditionsDassouqi revealed the details about the PKK terror organization’s barbarity and said, “People in Raqqa, Hasakah and Manbij do not have safety of life and property. There is a curfew in the area after 6 p.m. The houses of people who leave during the daytime are being robbed. The thieves are PKK terrorists and there is no authority to whom we can file complaints.”“More than 6,000 houses were booby-trapped by the PKK after the Daesh threat so that people could not return to their homes. They sold their construction materials and steel they stole from people’s homes. The PKK wages war against every living being; they stole everything we have under the tutelage of the U.S.”Underscoring the significant number of people internally displaced, he said, “Because of PKK terrorists and the U.S. there are only 500,000 people left in the region that once hosted 4 million. They keep civilians by force in camps in Ayn Isa. They are forced to live in disgusting conditions to receive UN funds for refugees. No one can leave these camps.”Two security guards martyred in PKK attack in SE TurkeyPKK doesn’t allow civilians to rebuild housesStressing that there is no attempt to rebuild the towns of Raqqa, Hasakah and Manbij, he said, “These places are in ruins and not a single thing has been done to rebuild. They don't even allow civilians to build a wall. People are trying to survive despite incurring all kinds of difficulties; they are setting up tents at ruins because they are not allowed to rebuild their destroyed houses. They have no other choice.” “Many American soldiers, civilians, bureaucrats and politicians have been visiting Raqqa, Hasakah and Manbij,” he added, underscoring the U.S support of PKK terrorists.Raqqa, a former Daesh stronghold, was captured by the YPG/PKK last October with air support from the U.S.In February, the U.S. said it would invest money in “stabilization” efforts there. However in March, U.S. President Donald Trump decided to freeze more than $200 million for recovery efforts in Syria while Washington reassessed its role in the conflict, administration officials said.Washington protects Daesh terroristsDassouqi stated that the U.S slaughtered more than 3,000 civilians under the pretext of fighting Daesh in the region in just two weeks in 2016.“However, Daesh terrorists were the ones who gave the U.S. the coordinates of the places to be bombed. The fight of the U.S is not against Daesh, but against the civilians living in Raqqa, Manbij and Ayn al-Arab”.The U.S has supplied the PYD terror organization and its armed wing, the YPG, with more than 5,000 truckloads of weapons to allegedly use in the fight against Daesh, despite Ankara’s warnings that the fact they are the Syrian offshoots of the PKK terror organization.
Syrians ask for Turkey’s help against US-backed PKK terrorists
Stalling in Manbij
Turkey will take action east of the Euphrates River in Syria and impose safe zones as it has done in the northwest of the country, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said during his official trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
“In the upcoming period we will increase the number of safe zones in Syria, encompassing the east of the Euphrates," Erdoğan said.
The Manbij roadmap agreed between Ankara and Washington has become obsolete. Tactics to stall in Manbij, which is seen as a safety door against the east of the Euphrates, are ongoing because the U.S. is aware that if it keeps its Manbij promise, Kobani, Ayn Issa, Tell Abayd, Resulayn, Dirbesiye, Qamishli, al-Hasakah and Raqqa are next.
The Manbij deal between Turkey and the U.S. focuses on the withdrawal of the PKK-affiliated YPG terror group from the city in order to stabilize the region, but has no far not yielded concrete results.
The United States is pulling some of its anti-aircraft and missile batteries out of the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing U.S. military officials.The Pentagon will pull out four Patriot missile systems from Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain next month, the report https://www.wsj.com/articles/u... said, adding that the realignment step marks a shift of focus away from long-lasting conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan to tensions with China, Russia and Iran.Two Patriot missile systems will be redeployed from Kuwait, and one each from Jordan and Bahrain, the report said. Patriots are mobile missile systems capable of shooting down missiles and planes.Palestinians decry, Israel commends Trump's UN addressThe report comes amid rising rhetoric against Iran from the United States, which earlier this year pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 deal in which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear work in return for the lifting of most Western sanctions.Meanwhile, Russia and the United States have been facing diplomatic rifts over Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, involvement in the Syrian conflict and alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.'If Trump wants oil price to stop going up, he should stop interfering in Middle East'
US removing some missile systems from Middle East
Safe zones inevitable
Erdogan has in the past warned of new military operations against the YPG along the Syrian border and if necessary into northern Iraq. Turkey is on the field in order to form a safe zone that extends from the Euphrates to Tigris.
If the Idlib demilitarization zone that Turkey and Russia agreed on last week is successful, a similar model could be implemented to the 50 to 60 kilometer-deep area that extends to Turkey’s borders from the Aleppo-Fishabur road.
Return of Syrian refugees
Close to one million displaced Syrians currently reside in tent cities in Turkey’s border towns. Ankara is pressing the matter of the return of these refugees to their homelands across many international platforms.
It seems that demilitarized zones are unavoidable from Kobani to Rimeylan for displaced Syrians to be able to return to their homes.
The PKK terrorists, who are under the custody of Turkish security forces, revealed children in the group’s squad were exposed to abuse by their fellow terrorists in northern Iraq.According to the testimonies of surrendered PKK terrorists, a “child squad” was comprising of around 30 children of ages ranging from 9 to 14 years in northern Iraq’s Zap region, said the security sources on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.Some of the girls in this squad were raped and those who got pregnant were taken to the nearest hospital in the region to terminate their pregnancy despite the risk of their lives, the sources added.Some of the children reportedly attempted suicide as they could not overcome the trauma of the incident.Another terror group member said in their testimony that some of the girls were executed after they were subjected to abuse.The terrorist said he/she escaped the terror group as the situation did become unbearable.According to the testimonies, quitting the terror group is on the rise while the influence of so-called ringleaders in Iraq's Mt. Qandil on other PKK terrorists has also decreased.Mt. Qandil is home to the PKK terror group's headquarters.In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the death of some 40,000 people.PKK’s Qandil cadre runs amok in Syria’s ManbijSeven civilians killed as YPG/PKK raids Syrian villageThree PKK terrorists neutralized in southeast TurkeyPKK ‘terror swamp’ east of Euphrates biggest issue for Syria, Erdoğan says
N. Iraq: PKK terrorists' testimonies reveal child abuse
Turkey currently hosts nearly 3.5 million Syrian refugees, more than any other country in the world.
Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.
PKK bars out Manbij locals
Mohamad T., a 22-year-old who wanted to visit his father in Manbij recently, stated that PKK terrorists did not let him enter the city. The Manbij local said his watch, glasses, cell phone and money were taken from him by the PKK.
“I’ve lost my right to stay. My only chance is if two PKK terrorists vouch for me,” said Mohamad, adding that he was sent to Jarabulus after two days of interrogation.
Turkey seeks to clear out “terror swamp”
Retired Brigadier İhsan Başbozkurt evaluated Erdoğan’s comments that “currently, the biggest problem for the future of Syria is the terror swamp, expanding under the auspices of some of our allies, east of the Euphrates.”
“Turkey, which renewed its defense line by joining the Euphrates and the Mediterranean, now seeks to join the Euphrates and Tigris. The demilitarized zone that is to be implemented in Idlib and probably Manbij may also be implemented east of the Euphrates,” Başbozkurt said.
A Syrian man with a cardiac condition unable to get the treatment he needed in Syria was brought to a Turkish hospital to receive a life-saving operation.Originally from Tal Rifaat, Syria, three years ago Ahmed al-Ahmed had to move to Azaz due to persecution of YPG/PKK terrorists in Tal Rifaat, the patient told reporters on Tuesday.Suffering from atherosclerosis, al-Ahmed sought out treatment in Azaz -- an area liberated by Turkey from the threat of terrorism -- but the treatment was inadequate.So the hospital, founded with Turkish support, transported al-Ahmed to Kilis State Hospital, in southern Turkey near the Syrian border.There al-Ahmed had a bypass operation and was able to make a recovery.He told reporters that after the operation he is now fine and that he prays for Turkish doctors.Operation Euphrates Shield, which began on August 2016 and ended in March 2017, eliminated the terrorist threat along Turkey’s border in the northern Syrian regions of Jarabulus, Al-Rai, Al-Bab, and Azaz with the use of the Free Syrian Army, backed by Turkish artillery and air cover.
Turkish doctors save Syrian patient's life