BREAKING
Turkey-backed forces advance on Kurdish Syrian town of Kobani
The development comes a day after the fall of the SDF-controlled town of Manbij.
Amberin Zaman
Dec 10, 2024
Turkey-backed forces advance on Kurdish Syrian town of Kobani
The development comes a day after the fall of the SDF-controlled town of Manbij.
Amberin Zaman
Dec 10, 2024
Fighters with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces inspect damaged and abandoned military vehicles and equipment at the Qamishli international airport, formerly a joint Syrian-russian military base, in northeastern Syria's city of Qamishli on Dec. 9, 2024
. — DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images
Turkish-backed Syrian opposition factions are advancing on Kobani, a Kurdish-majority town on the Turkish border that emerged as a symbol of Kurdish nationalism during the fight against the Islamic State.
Well-informed sources in northeast Syria confirmed to Al-Monitor that the factions, backed by Turkish air power, had crossed the Karakozak bridge connecting the western bank of the Euphrates River to the eastern side after fierce clashes.
The advance follows the fall of the SDF-controlled town of Manbij on the western side of the river early Monday.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Turkish-backed Syrian opposition factions are advancing on Kobani, a Kurdish-majority town on the Turkish border that emerged as a symbol of Kurdish nationalism during the fight against the Islamic State.
Well-informed sources in northeast Syria confirmed to Al-Monitor that the factions, backed by Turkish air power, had crossed the Karakozak bridge connecting the western bank of the Euphrates River to the eastern side after fierce clashes.
The advance follows the fall of the SDF-controlled town of Manbij on the western side of the river early Monday.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Turkish state commits another massacre in Ain Issa, killing 8 people from the same family
The occupying Turkish state is escalating its genocidal campaign against northern Syria, mobilizing not only its army but also allied jihadist proxies to invade further territories in violation of international law.
ANF
AIN ISSA
Tuesday, 10 December 2024
An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) of the occupying Turkish state carried out an aggression this morning in the village of Sefiya in the basin of Ain Issa. 8 people from the same family were massacred in the attack.
The names of the victims are as follows: Xelîl Silêman, Wedah Silêman, Mihemed El Abo, Ebdulkerîm El Abo, Delal Silêman, Nadiya Silêman, and 2 children named Casim Silêman and Husam Silêman.
On 8 December, 12 civilians, including children and women, were killed in an UCAV attack by the Turkish state in the Mestareha village of Ain Issa.
On 9 December, 2 children were killed in an attack by a Turkish UCAV in the village of Kuneftar in Kobanê.
The same day, Turkish UCAVs bombed the villages of Mihermela and Hermel in Zirgan town. The bombing left a civilian dead and two others wounded.
Another UCAV attack by Turkey on the same day targeted a civilian vehicle on the Zirgan-Dirbêsiyê road and left 3 civilians wounded.
The occupying Turkish state is escalating its genocidal campaign against northern Syria, mobilizing not only its army but also allied jihadist proxies to invade further territories in violation of international law.
ANF
AIN ISSA
Tuesday, 10 December 2024
An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) of the occupying Turkish state carried out an aggression this morning in the village of Sefiya in the basin of Ain Issa. 8 people from the same family were massacred in the attack.
The names of the victims are as follows: Xelîl Silêman, Wedah Silêman, Mihemed El Abo, Ebdulkerîm El Abo, Delal Silêman, Nadiya Silêman, and 2 children named Casim Silêman and Husam Silêman.
On 8 December, 12 civilians, including children and women, were killed in an UCAV attack by the Turkish state in the Mestareha village of Ain Issa.
On 9 December, 2 children were killed in an attack by a Turkish UCAV in the village of Kuneftar in Kobanê.
The same day, Turkish UCAVs bombed the villages of Mihermela and Hermel in Zirgan town. The bombing left a civilian dead and two others wounded.
Another UCAV attack by Turkey on the same day targeted a civilian vehicle on the Zirgan-Dirbêsiyê road and left 3 civilians wounded.
Senator urges US gov’t to protect Syria’s Kurds from threats by Turkey
ByTurkish Minute
December 9, 2024
ByTurkish Minute
December 9, 2024
US Senator Lindsey Graham (Photo by Genya SAVILOV / AFP)
US Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican, has called on the US government to prevent possible threats from Turkey and an alliance of rebel groups that have ended the years-long rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against Kurdish militant groups in Syria, warning that such a move could jeopardize US interests.
“We should not allow the Kurdish forces — who helped us destroy ISIS on President [Donald] Trump’s watch — to be threatened by Turkey or the radical Islamists who have taken over Syria,” he said on X on Monday.
Graham said Turkey has legitimate concerns regarding different groups that reside in northeastern Syria, but if there is a conflict between Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) or if Turkey attacks Kurdish forces, it will set in motion a “jailbreak” of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), which he said would be a nightmare for America.
He said the last time ISIS was in charge, thousands of Europeans and Americans were killed by ISIS plots that originated in Syria and that the possible re-emergence of ISIS creates chaos throughout the Middle East region, which is likely to lead to higher gas prices for Americans.
US backed Kurdish groups in Syria such as the SDF and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) are seen as terrorist groups by Turkey and offshoots of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accuses them of threatening Syria’s territorial integrity.
The SDF, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias formed in 2015, played a key role in eroding ISIS’s hold on large swaths of territory in Syria, including the terrorist group’s self-proclaimed Syrian capital of Raqqa.
“Turkey deserves to have a demilitarized buffer zone between northeastern Syria and Turkey to protect Turkish interests. However, if Turkey takes military action against Kurdish forces in Syria, it will jeopardize America’s interests dramatically,” Graham warned.
US officials insisted following the announcement of the Assad regime on Sunday that there are no plans to alter the US military footprint in Syria, which includes some 900 troops, most of them working in the country’s northeast with the SDF.
The senator also recalled that he had drafted sanctions in the past targeting Turkey if it engaged in military operations against the Kurdish forces who helped President Trump destroy ISIS and that he is ready to take the same action again in a bipartisan way.
Graham was one of Trump’s strongest critics when he decided in October 2019 to withdraw US troops from Syria, describing his decision as “shortsighted and irresponsible.” The move marked a major shift in US foreign policy, effectively giving Turkey the green light to attack US-backed Kurdish forces.
Manbij taken back from SDF
Graham’s remarks came on the same day that Turkey-backed Syrian opposition groups took control of the northern Syrian town of Manbij from the SDF, according to what a Turkish security source told Reuters.
The SDF had been holding the town in recent days amid intense fighting with the Syrian National Army (SNA) and other Turkey-backed groups.
A video, verified by Reuters, showed opposition forces being welcomed by people in Manbij, which is some 30 km (19 miles) south of the Turkish border and west of the Euphrates River.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported that the area is being searched for possible landmines and traps left behind by the Kurdish militia.
A Syrian opposition source told Reuters on Monday that the the United States and Turkey reached an agreement to ensure the safe withdrawal of SDF forces from Manbij.
The Kurdish fighters “have withdrawn from the city and still need to withdraw from the other areas” east of Manbij, said the Syrian opposition source familiar with the matter.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced on Monday the killing of 11 civilians, including six children, all members of the same family, in a Turkish drone strike targeting a house near Ain Issa, north of the city of Raqaa, in a Kurdish-held area.
On Sunday the Britain-based observatory, which has a network of sources inside Syria, also said at least 26 combatants were killed as Turkey-backed Syrian fighters launched an offensive on Manbij.
US Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican, has called on the US government to prevent possible threats from Turkey and an alliance of rebel groups that have ended the years-long rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against Kurdish militant groups in Syria, warning that such a move could jeopardize US interests.
“We should not allow the Kurdish forces — who helped us destroy ISIS on President [Donald] Trump’s watch — to be threatened by Turkey or the radical Islamists who have taken over Syria,” he said on X on Monday.
Graham said Turkey has legitimate concerns regarding different groups that reside in northeastern Syria, but if there is a conflict between Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) or if Turkey attacks Kurdish forces, it will set in motion a “jailbreak” of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), which he said would be a nightmare for America.
He said the last time ISIS was in charge, thousands of Europeans and Americans were killed by ISIS plots that originated in Syria and that the possible re-emergence of ISIS creates chaos throughout the Middle East region, which is likely to lead to higher gas prices for Americans.
US backed Kurdish groups in Syria such as the SDF and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) are seen as terrorist groups by Turkey and offshoots of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accuses them of threatening Syria’s territorial integrity.
The SDF, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias formed in 2015, played a key role in eroding ISIS’s hold on large swaths of territory in Syria, including the terrorist group’s self-proclaimed Syrian capital of Raqqa.
“Turkey deserves to have a demilitarized buffer zone between northeastern Syria and Turkey to protect Turkish interests. However, if Turkey takes military action against Kurdish forces in Syria, it will jeopardize America’s interests dramatically,” Graham warned.
US officials insisted following the announcement of the Assad regime on Sunday that there are no plans to alter the US military footprint in Syria, which includes some 900 troops, most of them working in the country’s northeast with the SDF.
The senator also recalled that he had drafted sanctions in the past targeting Turkey if it engaged in military operations against the Kurdish forces who helped President Trump destroy ISIS and that he is ready to take the same action again in a bipartisan way.
Graham was one of Trump’s strongest critics when he decided in October 2019 to withdraw US troops from Syria, describing his decision as “shortsighted and irresponsible.” The move marked a major shift in US foreign policy, effectively giving Turkey the green light to attack US-backed Kurdish forces.
Manbij taken back from SDF
Graham’s remarks came on the same day that Turkey-backed Syrian opposition groups took control of the northern Syrian town of Manbij from the SDF, according to what a Turkish security source told Reuters.
The SDF had been holding the town in recent days amid intense fighting with the Syrian National Army (SNA) and other Turkey-backed groups.
A video, verified by Reuters, showed opposition forces being welcomed by people in Manbij, which is some 30 km (19 miles) south of the Turkish border and west of the Euphrates River.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported that the area is being searched for possible landmines and traps left behind by the Kurdish militia.
A Syrian opposition source told Reuters on Monday that the the United States and Turkey reached an agreement to ensure the safe withdrawal of SDF forces from Manbij.
The Kurdish fighters “have withdrawn from the city and still need to withdraw from the other areas” east of Manbij, said the Syrian opposition source familiar with the matter.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced on Monday the killing of 11 civilians, including six children, all members of the same family, in a Turkish drone strike targeting a house near Ain Issa, north of the city of Raqaa, in a Kurdish-held area.
On Sunday the Britain-based observatory, which has a network of sources inside Syria, also said at least 26 combatants were killed as Turkey-backed Syrian fighters launched an offensive on Manbij.
TURKIYE'S WAR ON THE KURDS
Erdoğan says Turkey not seeking to expand reach in Syria
ByTurkish Minute
December 10, 2024
Turkey has no interest in expanding its reach into Syria, with its cross-border operations only aimed at defending the country from “terror attacks,” Agence France-Presse reported, citing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday.
“Turkey has no eye on the territory of any other country. The only aim for our cross-border operations is to save our homeland from terrorist attacks,” he said, referring to raids targeting the Kurdish-led People’s Protection Units (YPG) based in northeastern Syria.
Since 2016, Turkey has staged multiple operations against Kurdish forces in the area, giving it a foothold in areas bordering the frontier.
Ankara says the aim is to oust Kurdish militants, notably the YPG which is backed by Washington as bulwark against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants.
But Ankara views the YPG as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK ) which has fought a decades-long war inside Turkey and is also blacklisted as a terror organization by Washington and Brussels.
Erdoğan said Turkey would be closely watching both groups and would not allow them to take advantage of the upheaval in Syria.
“The separatist terrorist organization and its extensions in Syria might be quite excited in order to make use of this situation, and we follow them very closely,” he said, describing the PKK, YPG and ISIL as “our enemies.”
FLOODING KURDISTAN WITH PEOPLE
Turkey to reopen Syria border post for returning refugees: Erdoğan
ByTurkish Minute
December 10, 2024
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday pledged to reopen a border post on Turkey’s southern frontier with Syria to facilitate the return of refugees after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, Agence France-Presse reported.
“In order to ease the traffic at the border, we’re opening the Yayladağı border gate,” Erdoğan said, referring to a crossing on the westerly edge of the frontier that has been closed since 2013.
Turkey, which has a long border with Syria, is home to nearly three million refugees who fled their homeland after the start of the civil war in 2011, with many hundreds flocking to cross the frontier in the wake of Assad’s departure in order to finally return home.
Although not directly involved in the rebel operation that ousted Assad, Turkey has expressed support for the move and said it hoped the strongman’s removal would allow the refugees to return home.
“The strong wind of change in Syria will be beneficial for all Syrians, especially the refugees. As Syria gains stability, voluntary returns will increase and the 13-year longing of the Syrians for their homeland will come to an end,” he said.
Turkey's 3m Syrian refugees face big decision on going home or staying
Fundanur Ozturk
BBC Turkish in Ankara
Syrians have been queuing at the Turkish border in Hatay province to return home
Syrian refugees have been celebrating the fall of Bashar al-Assad in the streets of Turkish cities, welcoming the sudden collapse of his regime, and many are now considering whether they should go back home.
Thousands of Syrians have flocked to Turkey's borders with Syria, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced the opening of a border gate "to prevent any congestion and ease traffic".
But almost three million Syrians are currently living in Turkey, having fled their country's civil war since it began in 2011, and they will face a difficult decision on what they do next.
"There is still no water in many regions in Syria, electricity comes at certain times of the day. It is not even clear who will govern the country and how, but we need to return to get Syria back on its feet," says Ibrahim, a chemical engineer who has lived for 12 years in Hatay province which borders Syria.
Despite all the risks he is among those Syrian refugees planning to go back as soon as possible, even though they will have to restart their lives from scratch.Follow updates: Syrian rebels to name Assad officials wanted for torture
Many Turks are also keen for Syrians to go back as soon as possible and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said Turkey will work for their "safe and voluntary return home".
Shaken by Assad's sudden fall, Syria faces seismic turning point
'You can breathe': On the streets of Damascus after Assad
Columnist Mehmet Tezkan voiced the opinion of many here when he suggested there was no reason for them to stay.
The lives of Syrians in Turkey have become increasingly difficult in the past two years as Turks face an economic crisis with spiralling inflation.
Anti-immigrant sentiment in society has increased and the Erdogan government has tightened policies on immigration.
Turkey had long tried to talk to the ousted Assad regime about sending its refugees home.
But most Syrians in Turkey will want to wait and see how the coming turbulent months unfold before making such a big decision.
"There will be some movement, but I don't expect millions of people to leave at once, as everyone thinks," warns migration expert Prof Murat Erdogan.
If this doesn't happen, he says, "then a new atmosphere of tension may emerge."
A father and daughter wait at the newly opened Yayladagi border gate
Metin Corabatir, head of the Asylum and Migration Research Centre, predicts that a "gradual return" will take place within a year at best, provided that the necessary preparations are made.
"There are still risks in Syria in terms of both security and daily life. An internationally recognised government must take office in Damascus," he told the BBC.
Ibrahim agrees that for many refugees there will be nothing left to return home to: "In some areas there are no houses, no schools left. Even big cities like Aleppo are in a bad situation."
"But this country has come out of a 13-year war and we cannot wait for everything to be ready for us. As the Syrian people, we will try to rebuild everything little by little."
In other words, Ibrahim says the identity of Syria's next government is less important than Syrians going home to influence their future.
"Whoever comes will be better than Assad," he says. "If we don't return, who will go to the elections, who will decide how the country will be governed?"
Metin Corabatir points out that the big influx into Turkey came initially as Syrians fled the Assad regime from 2011-2013. The later exodus came when Syrians fled the rise of militant Islamist group IS and the spread of political instability.
"It's not easy to tell how the groups that come to power will behave, and Syrians will naturally expect to see that," he says.
"What kind of regime will be created there? The team that came says 'we are not jihadists, we will allow diversity' - but only time will tell to understand whether this is real or not."
Reuters
Syrians in Istanbul celebrated the ousting of Bashar al-Assad, holding a portrait of Turkey's President Erdogan
All Syrians in Turkey hold temporary protection status. The majority of them live in Istanbul and two border cities, Gaziantep and Sanliurfa.
Because many have been here for so long, Syrian families have put down roots, sending their children to Turkish schools and universities.
Syrians here also lead precarious lives.
Many work unregistered with salaries below the minimum wage, and often with no insurance.
If they all go home at once it could have a significant effect on the Turkish economy.
Murat Erdogan cautions that Turkey should not push Syrians to rush home all at once for the simple reason that there are big questions over infrastructure – a lack of schools, jobs and hospitals.
The United Nations estimates that 90% of the population inside Syria is now living below the poverty line.
"It may take hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild these devastated cities. Which country will provide the resources?" Mr Erdogan says. "The deep poverty and the collapse of infrastructure in Syria are likely to continue for a long time. These are not problems that will be easily fixed in the short term."
Metin Corabatir warns also of the risk of unexploded bombs and mines when refugees head home: "They also need to find out in advance what condition their homes are in the destroyed cities."
"We are talking about millions of people. The fact that they left their homes, reached Syria and settled there; all of this is greatly underestimated."
Turks, he believes, should not see the Syrians living among them as a mass of people who will just pack up and leave all at once.
Fundanur Ozturk
BBC Turkish in Ankara
Syrians have been queuing at the Turkish border in Hatay province to return home
Syrian refugees have been celebrating the fall of Bashar al-Assad in the streets of Turkish cities, welcoming the sudden collapse of his regime, and many are now considering whether they should go back home.
Thousands of Syrians have flocked to Turkey's borders with Syria, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced the opening of a border gate "to prevent any congestion and ease traffic".
But almost three million Syrians are currently living in Turkey, having fled their country's civil war since it began in 2011, and they will face a difficult decision on what they do next.
"There is still no water in many regions in Syria, electricity comes at certain times of the day. It is not even clear who will govern the country and how, but we need to return to get Syria back on its feet," says Ibrahim, a chemical engineer who has lived for 12 years in Hatay province which borders Syria.
Despite all the risks he is among those Syrian refugees planning to go back as soon as possible, even though they will have to restart their lives from scratch.Follow updates: Syrian rebels to name Assad officials wanted for torture
Many Turks are also keen for Syrians to go back as soon as possible and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said Turkey will work for their "safe and voluntary return home".
Shaken by Assad's sudden fall, Syria faces seismic turning point
'You can breathe': On the streets of Damascus after Assad
Columnist Mehmet Tezkan voiced the opinion of many here when he suggested there was no reason for them to stay.
The lives of Syrians in Turkey have become increasingly difficult in the past two years as Turks face an economic crisis with spiralling inflation.
Anti-immigrant sentiment in society has increased and the Erdogan government has tightened policies on immigration.
Turkey had long tried to talk to the ousted Assad regime about sending its refugees home.
But most Syrians in Turkey will want to wait and see how the coming turbulent months unfold before making such a big decision.
"There will be some movement, but I don't expect millions of people to leave at once, as everyone thinks," warns migration expert Prof Murat Erdogan.
If this doesn't happen, he says, "then a new atmosphere of tension may emerge."
A father and daughter wait at the newly opened Yayladagi border gate
Metin Corabatir, head of the Asylum and Migration Research Centre, predicts that a "gradual return" will take place within a year at best, provided that the necessary preparations are made.
"There are still risks in Syria in terms of both security and daily life. An internationally recognised government must take office in Damascus," he told the BBC.
Ibrahim agrees that for many refugees there will be nothing left to return home to: "In some areas there are no houses, no schools left. Even big cities like Aleppo are in a bad situation."
"But this country has come out of a 13-year war and we cannot wait for everything to be ready for us. As the Syrian people, we will try to rebuild everything little by little."
In other words, Ibrahim says the identity of Syria's next government is less important than Syrians going home to influence their future.
"Whoever comes will be better than Assad," he says. "If we don't return, who will go to the elections, who will decide how the country will be governed?"
Metin Corabatir points out that the big influx into Turkey came initially as Syrians fled the Assad regime from 2011-2013. The later exodus came when Syrians fled the rise of militant Islamist group IS and the spread of political instability.
"It's not easy to tell how the groups that come to power will behave, and Syrians will naturally expect to see that," he says.
"What kind of regime will be created there? The team that came says 'we are not jihadists, we will allow diversity' - but only time will tell to understand whether this is real or not."
ReutersSyrians in Istanbul celebrated the ousting of Bashar al-Assad, holding a portrait of Turkey's President Erdogan
All Syrians in Turkey hold temporary protection status. The majority of them live in Istanbul and two border cities, Gaziantep and Sanliurfa.
Because many have been here for so long, Syrian families have put down roots, sending their children to Turkish schools and universities.
Syrians here also lead precarious lives.
Many work unregistered with salaries below the minimum wage, and often with no insurance.
If they all go home at once it could have a significant effect on the Turkish economy.
Murat Erdogan cautions that Turkey should not push Syrians to rush home all at once for the simple reason that there are big questions over infrastructure – a lack of schools, jobs and hospitals.
The United Nations estimates that 90% of the population inside Syria is now living below the poverty line.
"It may take hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild these devastated cities. Which country will provide the resources?" Mr Erdogan says. "The deep poverty and the collapse of infrastructure in Syria are likely to continue for a long time. These are not problems that will be easily fixed in the short term."
Metin Corabatir warns also of the risk of unexploded bombs and mines when refugees head home: "They also need to find out in advance what condition their homes are in the destroyed cities."
"We are talking about millions of people. The fact that they left their homes, reached Syria and settled there; all of this is greatly underestimated."
Turks, he believes, should not see the Syrians living among them as a mass of people who will just pack up and leave all at once.
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