Turkey Could ‘Tip Syria balance’ as Kurdish Villages Shelled
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/27 July/15/
Turkish tanks shelled Kurdish-held villages in northern Syria, rebels and activists said Monday, as Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu warned that a military campaign by Ankara could “change the balance” in the region.
With its warplanes also hitting Kurdish targets in neighboring northern Iraq again on Sunday, Turkey called an extraordinary NATO meeting for Tuesday over its cross-border “anti-terror” offensive against Kurdish separatists and Islamic State jihadists. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey was poised to join coalition air strikes against the Islamic State group having agreed to open its airbases to the U.S. forces. “Turkey is going to actively join the air attacks,” he said on a visit to Portugal, with officials hinting the first U.S. bombing raids on IS from Turkish air bases could start in early August. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg defended Turkey’s right to defend itself but told the BBC “of course self-defense has to be proportionate.”But he cautioned Turkey about burning bridges with the Kurds. “For years there has been progress to try to find a peaceful political solution,” he told Norwegian state broadcaster NRK. “It is important not to renounce that… because force will never solve the conflict in the long term.”However, a Turkish official said on condition of anonymity that “operations will, if needed, continue until the PKK terror command centers… and all depots to store arms to be used against Turkey are destroyed.”The Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) — which pushed IS out of the Syrian flashpoint of Kobane early this year with the help of Western air strikes — said Turkish tanks hit its positions overnight and those of allied Arab rebels in the village of Zur Maghar in Aleppo province. The “heavy tank fire” wounded four members of the allied rebel force and several villagers, the YPG — which Turkey accuses of being allied to its outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) — said in a statement. But Turkish officials denied deliberately targeting Syrian Kurds and said it was responding to fire from the Syrian side of the border. “The bombing of the village is out of the question,” a foreign ministry official told AFP. “Turkey has its rules of engagement. If there’s fire from the Syrian side, it will be retaliated in kind.”As the bombardments were going on, Davutoglu told a group of Turkish newspaper editors that Ankara’s intervention would “change the balance” in the region, but ruled out sending ground troops into Syria.
Deal with U.S
He denied Turkey was worried by Kurdish gains against jihadists in northern Syria, pointing to Ankara’s good relations with the Kurdish autonomous region of northern Iraq. Turkey has given a green light to the United States to use its Incirlik air base to attack IS targets after months of tough negotiations. Davutoglu said the agreement met the concerns of Ankara, which had been pressing for a no-fly zone, “to a certain extent,” according to the Hurriyet daily. “Air cover is important, the air protection for the Free Syrian Army and other moderate elements fighting Daesh,” he said, referring to IS by an Arabic acronym. “If we will not send ground forces — and that we will not do — then certain elements that cooperate with us on the ground must be protected,” Davutoglu added. Ankara sources hinted that the first U.S. bombing missions out of Incirlik could start in early August with “elements of the Turkish Air Forces… deployed with the same objective in these operations.”
Clashes on the streets
Tensions are running high in Turkey, with police dispersing nightly protests in Istanbul and other major cities denouncing IS and the government’s policies on Syria.Davutoglu ordered the air strikes and artillery barrages after IS violence spilled over into Turkey last Monday with a suicide bombing in a town close to the Syrian border that killed 32 people. This incensed Turkey’s Kurds, who have long accused the government of colluding with IS, allegations it denies.Protests raged over the weekend in a Kurdish and leftist district of Istanbul, leaving one policeman dead, as 900 people with alleged links to IS, the PKK and other leftist organizations were rounded up, officials said. Ankara started its campaign Friday by shelling IS targets in Syria but then expanded it to air strikes on PKK rebels in northern Iraq who are bitterly opposed to the jihadists. The strikes seemed to torpedo long-running peace talks, with the separatists saying conditions were no longer in place to observe its ceasefire. The PKK’s military wing, the People’s Defense Forces (HPG), claimed a car bomb attack that killed two Turkish soldiers on Sunday in Diyarbakir province. It said three of its own fighters had been killed in Turkish air strikes Saturday, after one was killed in the first wave.Two Turkish policemen were shot dead Wednesday while sleeping in their homes in the southeast, in murders also claimed by the PKK. Meanwhile Turkey, NATO’s only majority Muslim member, called an extraordinary meeting of NATO ambassadors Tuesday for talks on its military operations. The White House backs its right to bomb the PKK which the U.S. also categorizes as a terror group. But German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Davutoglu “not to give up the peace process with the Kurds.”
US, Turkey to create ISIS-free buffer zone in Syria
News Agencies/Ynetnews/Published: 07.27.15 / Israel News
Kurds in Syria advance against Islamic State positions with help of US airstrikes; Turkey rides fine line, striking ISIS and Kurdish forces simultaneously. The United States and Turkey are finalizing plans for a military campaign to push the Islamic State out of a strip of land along the Turkey-Syria border, deepening efforts to halt the extremists’ advances. A US official says the “Islamic State-free zone” aims to ensure greater security and stability along the border. However, the official says any joint military efforts with Turkey would not include the imposition of a no-fly zone. Turkey has been pushing the US to set up a no-fly zone, though Washington has long denied those requests. Turkey did agree last week to let the US launch strikes against the Islamic State from one of its bases. The official insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the talks with Turkey. Meanwhile, the Kurdish YPG militia on Monday captured a town from Islamic State fighters in northern Syria after a month-long offensive against the ultra hard-line militants in the area to cut their supply lines, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Observatory said the town near the Euphrates River was a launch pad for Islamic State to wage raids on the Kurdish-held town of Kobani further north at the border with Turkey.US-led air strikes assisted the Kurds in the assault, said Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the Observatory.
Conflicting Strategy
Turkish troops however, shelled positions held the Kurdish fighters who were battling the Islamic State group with the aid of the US, Syria’s main Kurdish militia and an activist group said Monday. The Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, said the Sunday night shelling on the border village of Til Findire targeted one of their vehicles. It said Til Findire is east of the border town of Kobani, where the Kurds handed a major defeat to the Islamic State group earlier this year. In cross-border strikes since Friday, Turkey has targeted both Kurdish fighters as well as ISIS, stepping up its involvement in Syria’s increasingly complex civil war. The Syrian Kurds are among the most effective ground forces battling ISIS group, but Turkey fears they could revive an insurgency against Ankara in pursuit of an independent state.A Turkish official said Turkish forces are only targeting Islamic State forces in Syria and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in neighboring Iraq. The official said the “ongoing military operation seeks to neutralize imminent threats to Turkey’s national security and continues to target ISIS in Syria and the PKK in Iraq.””The PYD, along with others, remains outside the scope of the current military effort,” the official said, referring to the political arm of the YPG. The official added that authorities were “investigating claims that the Turkish military engaged positions held by forces other than ISIS.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of rules that bar officials from speaking to journalists without authorization. The YPG did not say in its Monday statement whether there were casualties in the shelling.
900 arrested in Turkey in sweep against ISIS, Kurdish militants
By Ayla Jean Yackley | Reuters, Istanbul/Monday, 27 July 2015/Turkish police detained dozens more suspected Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Kurdish militants in early morning raids on Monday, local media said, amid a crackdown on the armed groups and air strikes in Syria and Iraq. Long a reluctant member of the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS, Turkey last week made a dramatic turnaround by granting the alliance access to its air bases and bombarding targets in Syria linked to the jihadist movement as well as detaining suspected members in Turkish cities. Turkish jets also attacked Kurdish insurgent camps in Iraq for a second night on Sunday, in a campaign that could end Ankara’s peace process with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Broadcaster CNN Turk said more than 900 suspected ISIS and PKK members had been arrested in the past week in a domestic crackdown carried out alongside the air strikes. Some 500 police swept through the Haci Bayram district of the capital Ankara and detained 15 ISIS suspects, 11 of them foreign, the pro-government Yeni Safak daily said. Operations also took place in the southeastern city of Adiyaman, where 19 people with alleged links to the PKK were detained, it reported. Turkey’s air strikes on PKK camps in northern Iraq come despite negotiations with the rebels that were launched in 2012 to end a 30-year insurgency. The PKK has said the action has rendered the peace process meaningless. The Syrian Kurdish YPG, which has links to the PKK but which has coordinated with the United States in the fight against Islamic ISIS its positions on the outskirts of the ISIS-held town of Jarablus.
Syrian Kurdish militia reclaims town from ISIS
By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News/Monday, 27 July 2015/Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militias, aided by U.S.-led airstrikes, reclaimed the town of Sarrin held by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in northern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. The Observatory said the town near the Euphrates River was a launchpad for ISIS to wage raids on the Kurdish-held town of Kobane further north at the border with Turkey. U.S.-led air strikes assisted the Kurds in the assault, said Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the Observatory. Also on Monday, two bombs hit the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria, wounding at least three people, Reuters news agency reported citing the Observatory. The first blast hit a patrol of Kurdish fighters from the YPG and wounded three people, the Britain-based monitoring group said. The second bomb appeared to have targeted Kurdish local security forces, it said, reporting injuries but no precise toll. State television also reported the two bomb attacks. Kurdish activist Arin Shekhmos said the first blast had targeted a YPG car on patrol but that the wounded were civilians. He said the second blast hit a market area and that three civilians had been wounded. Qamishli is Syria’s biggest Kurdish-majority city, and considered by the Kurds to be the capital of Hasakeh province. The city has been targeted by bombings before, with the Islamic State group believed to be behind the attacks. [With reuters]
Turkey denies bombing of Syrian Kurdish village
AFP, Beirut/Monday, 27 July 2015/Turkey did not bomb Kurdish YPG positions in a village in northern Syria, a Turkish foreign ministry official said on Monday, denying a claim by the militia group that its positions had been shelled. The YPG earlier said the Turkish army shelled its positions in a village on the outskirts of the ISIS-held border town of Jarablus and urged Ankara to halt attacks on its forces. A Turkish government official told AFP earlier on Monday that the Turkish military are not targeting Syrian Kurds.
“The ongoing military operation seeks to neutralize imminent threats to Turkey’s national security and continues to target ISIS in Syria and the PKK in Iraq,” the official told AFP, referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party.He said the Syrian Kurdish “PYG, along with others, remains outside the scope of the current military effort.”In a statement, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) said Turkish tanks hit its positions and those of allied Arab rebels in the village of Zur Maghar in Aleppo province.“It is an aggression that should be stopped,” it said. The “heavy tank fire” wounded four members of the allied rebel force and several villagers, the YPG said.
It said there was a second, later round of shelling against Zur Maghar and another village in the same area. The Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said: “We are investigating claims that the Turkish military engaged positions held by forces other than ISIS.” Turkey has launched a two-pronged “anti-terror” cross-border offensive against jihadists and the PKK militants after a wave of violence in the country, pounding their positions with air strikes and artillery. Early on Monday, Turkish police detained 15 people with suspected links to the ISIS in the Hacibayram district of the capital Ankara, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported. Eleven of the 15 detainees were foreigners, Anatolia said, adding that the operation was backed by around 500 police officers who raided several addresses. The Turkish official told AFP the operations against IS and PKK were continuing, adding that a total of 900 people had been detained so far with links to the IS, PKK and other leftist organizations. “We are fighting against all terrorist organizations,” said the official. In a separate development, the Turkish lira fell below 2.76 to the dollar on Monday, its lowest since June 9, with traders citing security concerns.
‘Situation in the Mideast’
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in the Middle East, especially in Syria and Iraq, and better cooperation in fighting ISIS, the Kremlin said late on Sunday. During a telephone conversation, both sides stressed that all interested states should boost efforts to successfully combat the spread of terrorism and extremism, the Kremlin said in a statement.NATO called an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss security at the request of Turkey after a recent suicide bombing there and to discuss Turkish operations against ISIS and PKK Kurdish militants.
NATO: Turkey has not asked for help against ISIS
By AFP | Oslo/Monday, 27 July 2015/Turkey has not asked for substantial military help from NATO in its campaign against ISIS and Kurdish militants, the alliance’s chief said on Monday, a day before it meets to discuss the fighting. Jens Stoltenberg also warned Turkey that its bombing campaign could endanger the progress that has been made in recent years toward reaching a peace deal with Kurdish militants. NATO ambassadors are due to meet on Tuesday at Ankara’s request to discuss the spike of violence between Turkey, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants and Kurdish militants.“Turkey has a very strong army and very strong security forces. So there has been no request for any substantial NATO military support,” Stoltenberg said in an interview with the BBC. Turkey bombed ISIS positions in Syria for the first time last week, after a suicide bombing blamed on the militants killed 32 people on the border with the war-torn nation. It has also bombed positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq for the first time in four years, after the militants, who accuse Ankara of colluding with the Islamists, claimed the killing of two police officers. While applauding Ankara for joining the fight against the ISIS, the NATO chief cautioned that “self-defense has to be proportionate.”And in an interview with Norwegian television late Sunday, he warned that Turkey’s strikes on Kurdish militants risked undermining years of tortuous peace talks. “For years there has been progress to try to find a peaceful political solution. It is important not to renounce that… because force will never solve the conflict in the long term.” Turkey regards the PKK, which has waged a deadly insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984, as a terror group and the main Syrian Kurdish group fighting IS — the Democratic Union Party (PYD) — as the PKK’s Syrian branch.
