After killing several Turkish soldiers in Syria, Turkey has launched a retaliatory attack.
- US and Turkey agree on ceasefire
- Kurds accuse Turkish army of napalm use
- Left-wing politicians are calling for all arms exports to be stopped
- IS supporters flee from Kurdish prison camps
Update, 03.02.2020, 3.30 p.m .: After the killing of several Turkish soldiers in Syria , Turkey has launched a retaliatory attack in the northwest of the civil war country. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that 30 to 35 Syrian fighters have been "incapacitated" so far.
This can mean killed or injured. Activists from the Syrian Human Rights Observatory said 13 Syrian government soldiers were killed in the Turkish attacks. Erdogan also sent a warning to Syria's allies Russia not to stand in the way of the attacks.
According to its own account, Turkey reacted to a fire on Turkish forces by the Syrian military in the province of Idlib. At least five Turkish soldiers and a civilian employee were killed in this. Seven soldiers were also injured. The state-run Syrian news agency Sana reported that the Syrian military continues to attack “strongholds of terrorist organizations”. Four Turkish soldiers were killed and nine others injured.
Syria: Turkish Air Force bombs militias
Update, 11/11/2019, 9:32 a.m .: Kurdish militias and rebels allied with Turkey have once again fought hard in northern Syria. In addition, the Turkish Air Force is said to have bombed the area. This was announced by the Syrian Human Rights Observatory over the weekend.
Despite the violent skirmishes in northern Syria, the presidents of Turkey and Russia, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin, want to continue to honor the ceasefire agreed in October. The ceasefire is one of the "coordinated steps to stabilize the situation".
Syria: Turkey and Russia start joint patrols
Update, 1.11.2019, 10.40 a.m .: Joint patrols of the Turkish and Russian armed forces have started in northern Syria. The patrols along the Turkish border began around 10:00 a.m.CET in a village in the Al-Darbasija area, a correspondent from the AFP news agency reported. According to the Turkish Ministry of Defense, the military first patrolled east of the Syrian border town of Al-Darbasia.
Northern Syria: The last Assyrians in northern Syria fear an expulsion from Turkey
The Moscow Ministry of Defense confirmed that the first patrol had started. It is moving west along the Syrian-Turkish border. A total of "nine units, security vehicles and vans of the Russian military police" are on a route of more than 110 kilometers, according to a statement by the military.
Amnesty accuses Turkey of hundreds of arrests for criticism
Update, 1.11.2019, 7.30 a.m .: Amnesty International accuses Turkey of arresting hundreds of critics of the Turkish military offensive in northern Syria. According to a report by the human rights organization, media representatives, opposition figures and private users of online networks are affected.
"The Turkish government is using the ongoing offensive as a pretext to take massive action against critics of its policies," said Amnesty International Germany Secretary General Markus N. Beeko. According to the report, arrested people are faced with "absurd allegations".
The Turkish broadcasting supervisory authority had already announced one day after the start of the offensive that it would not tolerate critical reporting, it said. According to Amnesty, journalists have since been arrested and media workers' homes have been searched.
Amnesty appealed to the Turkish government to respect the right to freedom of expression and assembly. "Peaceful criticism of the Turkish invasion of Syria and appeals for peace must not be criminalized," Beeko warned.
ISIS fighters in Hassake prison suffer from lack of space and disease
Meanwhile, the situation in the Kurdish prison in Hassake is precarious. There are around 5000 IS supporters crammed together in oppressive heat, including children and adolescents. They suffer from a lack of space and diseases such as hepatitis and AIDS. Many of the sick are skin and bones, and quite a few have lost limbs.
Hassake Prison is one of seven detention centers run by Kurdish self-government.
Syria: Putin claims the profits, Erdogan pays the bill
Update, October 31, 2019, 12:01 p.m .: The war in northern Syria has produced one winner in particular: Vladimir Putin. The Russian president has managed to increase his own troop presence in the region, can stage himself internationally as a peacemaker and can use nationalist feelings at home.
Also read: Turkey wants to deport seven German IS fighters
Ankara pays the cost of the war. Even if the Turkish government does not disclose the cost of the operation, even Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan establishes a direct relationship between Turkey's economic problems and the deployment of Turkish troops on the country's southern border.
Erdogan appeals to the population and demands solidarity with soldiers
This becomes particularly clear when you look at Turkey's military budget. As reported by the Frankfurter Rundschau *, Turkey recorded the highest increase among the top 15 countries in 2018. According to the FR, 15,000 regular Turkish soldiers and 14,000 Syrian FSA fighters participated in operations in northern Syria alone.
Erdogan himself appealed to voters instead of thinking about the price increase as a result of the economic problems "about the price of a bullet". The problem with this: Three balls currently have the equivalent of one kilo of the basic foodstuffs tomatoes or potatoes.
Syria conflict: Kurdish YPG withdraws from border region
Update, October 29, 2019, 4:15 p.m .: The armed Kurdish militia YPG has withdrawn prematurely from northern Syria, according to the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Syrian border troops and the Russian military police have now taken control there, Schoigu told the agency Interfax on Tuesday.
An agreed ceasefire should officially end at 6:00 p.m. local time (4:00 p.m. CET). It should continue to apply now. As agreed, the YPG was to withdraw from a strip 30 kilometers deep in the Syrian-Turkish border area. Before the deadline, Turkey had threatened to continue its military offensive in northern Syria.
Update, October 29, 2019, 2:15 p.m .: Shortly before the end of a ceasefire in northern Syria, there were first direct battles in the region between the Turkish army and the Syrian government forces. Six Syrian soldiers were killed in the fighting near the Turkish border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Tuesday.
According to the observatory, five Syrian soldiers were killed by Turkish artillery fire near the village of al-Assadija south of the border town of Ras al-Ain. A sixth was "executed" by Protürkian militias in the course of the battle. The opposition organization in Great Britain gets its information from local activists. These can hardly be checked for the media.
Update, October 27, 2019, 3:01 p.m .: The White House has confirmed the death of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Bagdadi. U.S. special forces had deployed al-Baghdadi to an operation in northwest Syria. The IS leader had been killed when he detonated an explosive vest during the operation.
Trump praises Kurdish general, Turkey demands its extradition
Update, 1:50 p.m .: Donald Trump found only words of praise after his meeting with Maslum Abdi. The commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was a guest at the White House on Wednesday. The next day, Trump tweeted that he "really enjoyed the conversation." The SDF are dominated by the Kurdish militia YPG and were a close ally of the United States in the fight against the Sunni terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) in Syria.
Now the US ally, Turkey, is demanding Abdi's extradition. If he steps on American soil, he will have to be turned over to Turkey, the Turkish Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gül said on Friday during a visit to the south-east Turkish border province of Sanliurfa, according to Turkish media.
Chants against Trump: "Lock him up"
The topic had already been discussed with authorities in the United States on Thursday, said Gül. "The US should not contact this person in any form and is obliged to arrest him and extradite him to Turkey if he steps on American soil," said Gül. There is an Interpol arrest warrant against Abdi, also known as Ferhat or Ferhad Abdi Sahin or Maslum Kobane.
I really enjoyed my conversation with General @MazloumAbdi. He appreciates what we have done, and I appreciate what the Kurds have done. Perhaps it is time for the Kurds to start heading to the Oil Region!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2019Turkey regards the YPG as an offshoot of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and thus as a terrorist organization. Abdi is on a so-called red terrorist wanted list in Turkey.
Turkey is illegally deporting hundreds of Syrians to the crisis area
Update, October 25, 2019, 8:00 am: Human rights activists accuse Turkey of illegally deporting hundreds of Syrians. "Already months before Turkish troops invaded northern Syria, Turkey deported Syrian refugees to the war-torn country," Amnesty International said in Berlin on Friday. This is the conclusion of a report for which employees of the human rights organization spoke to dozens of Syrian refugees.
"The Turkish authorities must stop the deportations to Syria and ensure that anyone who has already been deported can safely return to Turkey," said Amnesty refugee and migrant rights expert Anna Shea.
According to the Turkish authorities, 315,000 Syrians have voluntarily returned to their home countries in the past few months, Amnesty International said. Often, however, there was no question of voluntariness: deported refugees interviewed for the report said that they had been beaten and threatened by Turkish police officers.
They were also forced to sign documents that they themselves have requested to return to Syria. "Deportations to Syria are illegal because they are extremely vulnerable to serious human rights violations," said Amnesty.
Update from Friday, October 25, 2019, 6.45 a.m .: The US wants to protect the oil fields in northeastern Syria from the jihadist militia Islamic State (IS) with an increased military presence. A representative of the US Department of Defense said on Thursday that the US wanted to strengthen its position in the region with "additional military means" and "in coordination" with the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
This is to prevent the oil fields from falling back into the hands of IS or “other destabilizing actors”. In the fight against the IS jihadists, taking the oil fields in eastern Syria was one of the greatest successes, the Pentagon representative said. It must be ensured that the Islamic State will no longer gain access to oil as a source of finance for its activities. However, the Pentagon representative does not provide any further information on the US military engagement. Donald Trump said on Wednesday that a "small number of soldiers" would remain in the region to protect the oil fields.
6:25 p.m .: The US government is lifting the sanctions against Turkey imposed because of the Syria offensive. This is possible because of the long-term ceasefire promised by Turkey in the area, President Donald Trump said Wednesday in the White House.
Update from Wednesday, October 23, 2019, 5.20 p.m .: Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer wants the security zone she proposed in northern Syria to be protected by a UN force - also with combat troops. When presenting its controversial plan to the Bundestag's Defense Committee, the CDU chairwoman said on Wednesday, according to participants, that there had to be a mandate from the United Nations for the operation and that the force should also be led by the UN. The extent to which the Bundeswehr could participate in this, however, left it open. Russia's approval in the Security Council is necessary for a UN mandate.
Meanwhile, the UN special representative for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said that the Turkish-Syrian patrols in the border region are only a temporary solution. The joint patrols should be “temporary,” said Pedersen of the Swiss news agency SDA. There are "no disagreements" about this.
Update from Wednesday, October 23, 2019, 3:07 p.m .: After the Russian-Turkish agreement on joint control of border areas in northern Syria, Moscow put massive pressure on the Kurdish militia YPG. If the militia does not withdraw from the area with its weapons, "the remaining Kurdish formations ... will indeed be crushed by the Turkish army," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the Tass agency.
At the same time, units of the Russian military police have advanced towards northeast Syria. This was announced by the Ministry of Defense in Moscow. According to the Tass agency, a convoy would have crossed the Euphrates River at 12 noon and headed north. Syrian military circles reported that Russian military police had entered the border town of Kobane in four vehicles. The Kurdish militia YPG drove the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) out of Kobane in spring 2015. Last week, US troops allied with the Kurds had left their base there.
How many YPG fighters are to leave the border strip with Turkey in the six days scheduled for departure - and where they are going - has so far been unclear. The extent of the exact area of withdrawal was not clearly described in the document, which fits on a single sheet of paper.
Syria: joint controls by Turks and Russians
The Moscow deal stipulates that Turkey will have sole control over a 120-kilometer area between Ras al Ain and Tal Abjad. To the west and east of this “security zone” claimed by Turkey, the Turkish and Russian units will in future patrol together in a strip ten kilometers deep. The Kurds are the losers of the agreement.
18:57: Due to the Turkish military invasion in northern Syria, German supporters of the Islamic State (IS) were able to escape from a Kurdish prison camp. The Federal Foreign Office does this in response to a written request from Benjamin Strasser, FDP member of the Bundestag. "The information available to the Federal Government suggests," it says, "that German nationals are among the IS supporters who escaped from Kurdish prison camps in northern Syria," the Federal Foreign Office told Spiegel-online.de.
In addition, the news portal should have precise figures on how many IS supporters have escaped since the Turkish military invasion. The refugees are said to be at least four women from Germany. However, the Federal Foreign Office has not yet confirmed this.
Syria: Agreement on prolonged ceasefire
Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin have agreed to extend the ceasefire. It is said to continue for another 150 hours or more than six days. Russia is organizing patrols with Turkey in the so-called security zone in the Syrian border area with Turkey, according to a meeting in Sochi.
Update, Tuesday, October 22, 2019, 7:35 a.m .: The population in northern Syria has reacted furiously to the largest withdrawal of US troops from the region to date. Civilians threw potatoes at the armored vehicles of the US Army and shouted insults at the soldiers.
The ceasefire agreed by the USA and Turkey currently applies until Tuesday evening. The ceasefire is intended to enable the YPG Kurdish militia, which is being fought by the Turks, to withdraw.
It was the largest ever transfer of troops since Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. Army from Syria. Most of the soldiers will be transferred to Iraq, according to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. A small part will remain in Syria, among other things, to protect the oil fields there from the Islamist terrorist militia IS.
Syria: Erdogan and Putin are planning meetings
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan plan to meet at a meeting to find new steps to resolve the Syrian conflict. According to Kremlangaben, the negotiations in the Black Sea city of Sochi on Tuesday afternoon are primarily about normalizing the situation in the north of the country.
Update from Monday, October 21, 2019, 7:10 a.m .: The Kurdish units have completely withdrawn from the northern Syrian border town of Ras al-Ain. The Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced the withdrawal of its fighters on Sunday, and Turkey confirmed the information. An AFP reporter watched a convoy of dozens of vehicles leave the city. Meanwhile, the U.S. forces are continuing to withdraw troops from the northern Syrian border with Turkey. Ras al-Ain was recently besieged by Turkish military units and Syrian aid forces. The SDF withdrawal, which is dominated by the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG), was part of the US-Turkey five-day ceasefire agreement negotiated on Thursday in Northern Syria.
The pause in the fight is intended to allow YPG fighters to withdraw from a planned "security zone" on the Turkish border. However, there is no agreement on the exact extent of this buffer zone. The convoy with Kurdish fighters and injuries, which left Ras al-Ain on Sunday, consisted of more than 50 vehicles, including ambulances, according to an AFP correspondent. The convoy later reached the city of Tal Tamr, south of Ras al-Ain.
Update from Saturday, October 19, 2019, 1.40 p.m .: Dietmar Bartsch, chairman of the left-wing parliamentary group in the Bundestag, found clear words on Turkey's military operation in northern Syria at the State Party Conference of the Left in Hesse's Dietzenbach. "The German government must finally make it clear that President Erdogan is waging a war that is contrary to international law in northern Syria." German weapons would also be used there. "That's a scandal." Germany must no longer deliver weapons to Turkey, said Bartsch.
Syria conflict: "Arms exports must be stopped"
The federal chairman of the left Bernd Riexinger also takes a clear position in Hamburg on Saturday. "All arms exports to Turkey must be stopped immediately, permits that have already been issued must be revoked," says the federal chairman at the state party conference of the Hamburg Left. "It is our duty to stop the war against the Kurds." The left will demonstrate together in several large cities on Saturday "with our Kurdish friends against the dirty and unlawful war in Syria," says Riexinger.
12:15 p.m .: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about US policy in Syria. Netanyahu received Pompeo at his residence in Jerusalem on Friday. The US Secretary of State negotiated a ceasefire for northern Syria with US Vice President Mike Pence on a visit to Ankara on Thursday.
Israel is concerned about the US withdrawal from northern Syria
In Israel, the US withdrawal from northern Syria, which had cleared the way for the Turkish military offensive against the Kurdish militia YPG, was observed with concern. President Donald Trump's decision raised concerns that the United States might one day turn away from its ally Israel.
The YPG has been an important US ally in the fight against the jihadist militia Islamic State (IS) for years. In addition, the US withdrawal fueled fears by the Israeli government that its archenemy Iran could take advantage of a power vacuum in Syria to expand its influence in the region. Tehran stands alongside ruler Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war.
Netanyahu has so far expressed no direct criticism of his close ally Trump's Syria policy. Last week, however, he condemned the Turkish "invasion" in the Syrian Kurdish regions and warned of "ethnic cleansing" by the Turkish troops and their allies.
What the ceasefire is really worth in Syria: the ceasefire agreed for northern Syria is put into perspective as soon as it comes into force. With the agreement, the US is sealing its withdrawal from the region. An analysis.
Amnesty accuses Turkey of war crimes
11:15 am: The human rights organization Amnesty International has accused Turkey of war crimes in northern Syria. The Turkish armed forces and their Syrian allies have committed "war crimes, mass killings and unlawful attacks" on their military offensive against the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG), Amnesty said on Friday. The organization said it had "overwhelming evidence of arbitrary attacks in residential areas."
Amnesty Secretary General Kumi Naidoo has certified that the Turkish army and its Syrian allies are "completely indifferent to the lives of civilians". According to the Amnesty report, the armed forces controlled by Ankara attacked homes, a bakery, and a school, among others. Amnesty relies on video recordings and testimony from 17 witnesses, including rescue workers, medical personnel, humanitarian workers, displaced persons and journalists. A Kurdish worker from the Red Cross said he had carried charred bodies from a ruin near a school after a Turkish airstrike on October 12. The Turkish government initially did not comment on the Amnesty report.
Update, October 18, 10:25 a.m .: Despite the ceasefire negotiated between the United States and Turkey, the fighting between Turkish soldiers and Kurdish militias in northern Syria has apparently not been completely stopped. The Syrian Human Rights Observatory said on Friday morning that there were "isolated" battles in the border town of Ras al Ain. Shots and artillery fire were heard.
Turkey and the United States agreed a five-day ceasefire for northern Syria on Thursday. The Kurdish militias and their allies have announced that they will accept the agreement. The commitment applies to the sector between Ras al-Ain and the border town of Tal Abjad, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said. According to the agreement between the United States and Turkey, the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG), which make up the majority of the SDF, are to withdraw from a 32 km wide "security zone" in the border area during the ceasefire. Subsequently, Turkey should completely stop its operation, according to the US.
10:16 p.m .: Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria are ready to accept the ceasefire negotiated between the United States and Turkey. "We will do everything we can to make the ceasefire a success," Maslum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), told the Kurdish Ronahi TV on Thursday evening.
7.46 p.m .: Turkey and the United States have agreed on a five-day ceasefire for northern Syria. US Vice President Mike Pence said in the evening after long talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara that they had agreed to suspend the military operation for 120 hours to allow the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) to withdraw from the "security zone" on the to allow Turkish border in northern Syria.
2:20 pm: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has " thrown away" an unusually undiplomatic letter from his US colleague Donald Trump on the offensive in northern Syria, according to a media report. Erdogan rejected Trump's warning of an offensive against the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) and threw the letter away, CNN Türk quoted unnamed diplomats on Thursday. Trump had warned Erdogan against an invasion of Syria in an unusually sharply worded letter on October 9. If Erdogan does this, he will go down in history as the "devil", Trump warned. He should neither "be a fool" nor pretend to be a "tough guy", but rather "work out a good deal" with Trump. A "great deal" is possible if he negotiates with YPG commander Maslum Abdi.
Kurdish self-government accuses Turkey of using napalm and phosphorus
1.00 p.m .: Kurdish self-government in northern Syria has accused Turkey of using prohibited weapons such as napalm and phosphorus. "In the obvious violation of law and international treaties, the Turkish aggression against (Ras al-Ain) is carried out with all kinds of weapons," said the administration of the Kurdish autonomy region.
The fighting is focused on the Syrian border town of Ras al-Ain. The Syrian Human Rights Observatory reported that parts of the city had been conquered by Turkey. The organization could not confirm the allegations about the use of napalm and phosphorus. However, she said that injuries with burns had come to a hospital.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar dismissed the allegations. "It is common knowledge that the Turkish armed forces have no chemical weapons in their inventory," said Akar in Ankara. The YPG itself uses chemical weapons to subsequently blame Turkey for this, he said.
Turkey has apparently taken over parts of the border town of Ras al Ain
Update, October 17, 11:15 a.m .: Eight days after the start of the Turkish military offensive in northern Syria, the Turkish army and its allies have taken over parts of the strategically important northern Syrian border town of Ras al-Ain, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. After the intense air strikes of the past few days, they would have "taken up about half of the city by Thursday morning," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the London-based organization. The Kurdish YPG militia had been bitterly opposed to the Turkish army and its military allies in Ras al-Ain in recent days. With a dense network of tunnels and trenches, the fighters had held back the attackers for around a week.
Turkey's military offensive: Donald Trump warns Recep Tayyip Erdogan
First report: With an unusual letter in undiplomatic language, US President Donald Trump warned the Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan against the military offensive in northern Syria.
"Don't be a fool," Trump wrote in the recently released letter of October 9 - the day Turkey launched its offensive against the Kurdish militia YPG. Otherwise Erdogan would go down in history as the "devil". The US President begins writing to his Turkish counterpart with the typical call for a "good deal": "You don't want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don't want to be responsible for the destruction of the Turkish economy - and I will do it. "
Erdogan should negotiate with the head of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Maslum Abdi, the US president writes. Then a "great deal" is possible. "History will look benevolently at you if you can do it in a correct and humane way," Trump continues. "She'll consider you devil forever unless good things happen."
Trump criticizes Turkey's military operation
"Don't give the tough guy. Don't be a fool!" the US President warns at the end of the letter - and adds: "I'll call you later." The White House confirmed the authenticity of the letter on Wednesday. Turkey started its offensive against the YPG militia last week.
Trump has sharply criticized the military operation and has imposed sanctions on the Turkish leadership - however, he had made the offensive possible by withdrawing US soldiers from the region. He is therefore criticized internationally and in his home country. (FR / afp)
* fr.de is part of the nationwide Ippen editorial network.
A US civilian was killed in a missile attack in Iraq. The incident could escalate between the United States and Iran.
Rubric list image: © AFP / Nazeer Al-khatib
