The Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to expand the Turkish army's cross-border operations in Iraq and Syria. He will 'be the source of the threat \u0026 quot; to drain his land. Erdogan said that Saturday at the party conference of his Islamist conservative AK party in Ankara.
Top consultations between the EU and Turkey have not led to a breakthrough. EU President Donald Tusk acknowledged that no compromises had been achieved, but expressed the hope that the parties would still come closer together in the future.
The United Nations has requested full access Tuesday to citizens who need help in and outside the Syrian region of East Ghouta. In recent days, 50,000 people have fled the besieged area. Another 104,000 people have been expelled from home by the fighting in the northern Afrin. 'These people have left with nothing and they need everything, from clothing to shelter,' said a spokesperson for the UNHCR refugee organization.
The Netherlands is not going to announce sanctions against Turkey on its own as a punishment for the Turkish invasion of the Syrian Afrin region. Such a one-man action would be counterproductive, says Minister Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs.
Damascus demanded the departure of Turkish soldiers from Afrin on Monday after they had conquered the largest city in the region on Syrian-Kurdish forces during the weekend.
Turkey continues military operations in Syria. That said the Turkish president Erdogan, who put the 'terrorists \u0026 # x27; \u0026 # x27; want to expel from the areas around Manbij, Kamishli, Kobani and Ras al-Ayn. The Turkish leader did not rule out also to take action against Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq.
At least eleven people were killed when a bomb exploded in the Syrian town of Afrin. It concerns four fighters from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and seven civilians, said a source in the security services Monday against the Turkish state press agency Anadolu.
A British woman who fought with Kurdish militias died in Syria. The convoy with 26-year-old Anna Campbell from East Sussex would have been hit by a rocket, reports British media. It is known as the first time that a British woman in Syria is killed on the side of the Kurds.
Syrian rebels with the support of Turkish troops entered the city of Afrin in the northwest of Syria shortly before sunrise. They took control of parts of it after the Kurdish YPG troops had withdrawn, said a spokesman for the rebel fighters of the Free Syrian Army.
The Turkish army denies having bombed a hospital in Afrin, the main city of the Kurdish enclave of the same name in north-western Syria. 'This operation is conducted in a way that leaves civilians and innocents out of action', the Turkish army reports on Twitter.
Turkish forces have again carried out air strikes on Friday evening at the Syrian city of Afrin, which was controlled by the YPG. According to the Syrian-Kurdish militia, the only large hospital is bombed. Nine people have been killed as a result. The mortar bombardments also continued.
The Turkish forces guarantee citizens who want to leave the besieged Syrian city Afrin a safe retreat. On Friday they said they had pamphlets strewn above the stronghold of the Kurdish militia YPG.
The Turkish forces have now eliminated more than 3,500 Kurdish fighters around Afrin in northwestern Syria. The army did not report how many fighters were killed or taken prisoner.
Turkey and the United States are going to pilot the Kurdish Syrians of the YPG militia from Manbij. The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu said this Tuesday. According to Cavusoglu, a plan for the withdrawal of the YPG (People's Protection Units) from the Syrian location approximately 80 kilometers northeast of Aleppo is being made during the American-Turkish consultations on 19 March.
The Turkish army and allies have completely surrounded the city of Afrin in the eponymous district in northwestern Syria. The Turkish army announced that on Tuesday.
After a week of offensive, Turkish soldiers have reached the outskirts of the city of Afrin in the north of Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Turks are advancing on the east side of the city.
Turkey has neutralized 2777 fighters of the Kurdish YPG in the region of Afrin in northwestern Syria so far: the fighters have surrendered or are killed. That was reported by Turkish media.
At least 36 pro-Syrian fighters were killed during a series of bombings by the Turkish Air Force in the Syrian Afrin region. That reports the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Saturday.
Five Turkish soldiers were killed in fighting on Thursday between the Turkish army and Kurdish fighters of the YPG in the Syrian Afrin region. That reported the Turkish army. Seven soldiers were injured and 'evacuated quickly', according to the statement.
Despite sharp criticism from the United States, Turkey does not feel bound by the UN resolution on a truce in Syria. The country plans to continue its offensive against the Kurdish YPG militias in Afrin.
Turkey sends special police units to the Syrian Afrin region, despite the ceasefire announced on Saturday. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag says the units are needed for a 'new fight.' According to the Turkish news agency Dogan, the troops are going to take part in battles in inhabited areas.
The Turkish forces have fought a large convoy in the Syrian Afrin region. According to Turkey, it was about vehicles with 'terrorists, weapons and ammunition' from the Kurdish YPG militia.
Turkey has so far neutralized 1780 warriors of the Kurdish YPG with its operation Olijftak in northwest Syria. 'The Turkish General Staff reported this.
The Turkish army attacked the Syrian region Afrin on Tuesday with grenades. This was reported by the Syrian state press agency Sana. The bombing was short after Syrian militias supporting the regime of President Assad entered the region.
Turkey threatens to open the attack on Syrian troops if they decide to help the Kurds in Afrin. A deal about that would be in the making. This is a new, life-threatening confrontation in the Syrian war.
The demonstration against the Safety Conference in Munich went smoothly on Saturday. About 2000 demonstrators showed up in the center of the Bavarian capital. That was half less than the organization had expected. The dense snowfall could have been related to this.
Turkey says it has never used chemical weapons in Syria. The denial follows accusations of Syrian-Kurdish troops that the country has carried out a poison gas attack in the Afrin region.
Last week in Turkey 474 people were arrested, because they have recommended the banned extremist Turkish Kurdish PKK or the main party of the Kurds in Syria, the PYD.
A Turkish army helicopter was shot down in the southeastern Hatay province during actions against Kurdish militias in nearby Syria. The Hürriyet newspaper reported that President Erdogan said in an application on Saturday that unfortunately such incidents occur in a war and that the perpetrators will pay a high price.
The regime of Bashar al-Assad accuses the United States of war crimes after a bloody confrontation that exposed the many dangers of the current struggle in Syria. Now that Islamic State has fallen away as a common enemy, there is high tension on the whole country, which is currently going through the deadliest week since time.
