A group of senior U.S. officials, including a deputy assistant secretary of state and the commander of the coalition against the Islamic State, visited Syria’s oil-rich Deir al Zor province on Sunday to manage a conflict between its Kurdish rulers and insurgent Arab tribes.
Gen. Mazloum Abdi – top military commander for the Kurdish-led, U.S.-allied Syrian Defense Forces (SDF) – said on Wednesday his alliance must suspend operations against the resurgent Islamic State in order to prepare for a potentially massive Turkish invasion that could put hundreds of American troops in Syria at risk.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey’s airstrikes against Kurdish militia in Syria would soon be augmented by a major ground invasion. Meanwhile, Iran is launching missiles against Kurds living in the mountains of Iraq and using ground forces to crush protests in Iranian Kurdistan.
Two unnamed U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday that several American soldiers were injured during an “interaction” with Russian troops in northern Syria this week.
Islamic State militants on Monday night staged their second prison riot in 24 hours at the holding facility in Hasakah, a city in northeastern Syria controlled by Kurdish forces. Kurdish officials said they narrowly avoided a “catastrophe” and warned they are having increasing difficulty controlling the ISIS prison population.
The Turkish National Security Council issued a statement on Tuesday that “Operation Peace Spring,” the Turkish invasion of northeastern Syria, will continue despite cease-fire agreements brokered with the United States and Russia.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, en route home to Ankara after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and members of Congress in Washington, boasted that he taught Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) a “lesson” for daring to insult Turkey by questioning Erdogan’s invasion of Syria to attack the Kurds.
In an exclusive report on Wednesday, Kurdistan24 News described visiting two bases in eastern Syria to talk with the roughly 500 U.S. troops left behind to defend strategically vital oil fields. The soldiers said they are still working with the Kurdish-led Syrian Defense Forces (SDF) militia and conducting operations against Islamic State remnants.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that when he meets with U.S. President Donald Trump this week, his agenda will include Turkey’s relationship with Russia, complaints about Syrian Kurdish militia forces remaining in the “safe area” Turkey wants to carve out near its border, and Turkey’s long-stalled extradition request for exiled cleric and Erdogan arch-enemy Fethullah Gulen.
Kurdish news service Rudaw reported on Tuesday that Syrian Christians living near the Turkish border are taking up arms to protect their villages from invading Turkish forces and their Syrian allies.
U.S. troops used armored vehicles to conduct a patrol of the border between Syria and Turkey on Thursday, according to witnesses who saw American flags flying from the vehicles.
Tuesday brought the end of the cease-fire that halted Turkey’s invasion of Syria to drive Kurdish military forces away from the border. Despite some ominous rumblings from other Turkish officials, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pronounced the Kurdish withdrawal satisfactory and declared victory.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Monday that clashes with Turkish-backed Syrian militia groups continue despite the SDF withdrawing from the border region as demanded in the security agreement between Turkey and Syria’s patrons in Russia.
Iran’s state-run Fars news agency on Monday reported Syrian Army units advancing to the Turkish border region have skirmished with invading Turkish forces.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a U.S.-allied coalition of mostly Kurdish fighters, blamed Turkey on Sunday for delaying a five-month-long operation to capture Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of the Islamic State.
Multiple mainstream media reports claim Pentagon officials are reportedly seeking permission from the White House to deploy hundreds of U.S. troops and dozens of tanks to eastern Syria to protect valuable oil fields currently held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Russian ground troops and military vehicles poured into key Syrian Kurdish cities on Wednesday and Thursday as part of Russia’s deal with Turkey to conduct joint patrols of the “safe zone” they are establishing along the Turkey-Syria border, and also to prevent Turkey from attacking deeper into Syria.
General Mazloum Abdi, the pre-eminent military leader of the Syrian Kurds, thanked President Donald Trump on Wednesday for his efforts in stopping a Turkish offensive and negotiating a cease-fire.
Ilham Amhed, president of the Syrian Democratic Council, on Monday met with U.S. congressional representatives and pleaded with President Donald Trump to stop Turkey’s “massacre” and “ethnic cleansing” of Syrian Kurds.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he felt “serious sadness” at criticism against his country’s invasion of Syria from the Islamist regime in Iran on Tuesday, lamenting that President Hassan Rouhani did not “prevent” officials from condemning Erdogan.
Kurdish civilians pelted a U.S. military convoy with tomatoes, stood in front of armored vehicles shouting “no, no!” and held up protest signs as troops moved out of Qamishli, northern Syria, video surfacing from the region showed on Monday.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reported on Friday morning that Turkish forces violated the five-day ceasefire agreement announced on Thursday afternoon almost immediately, as Turkish-allied ground forces continued to attack the town of Ras al-Ain with Turkish air and artillery support.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a formerly U.S.-allied coalition largely made up of Kurdish fighters, accused the Turkish military and its proxies of genocide against the Kurdish people on Wednesday and using tactics “similar to ISIS.”
The Kurdish news service Rudaw reported on Tuesday that elements of the Islamic State (ISIS) are taking advantage of Turkey’s invasion of Syria to increase the tempo of their own attacks on positions held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Turkey’s invasion of northeastern Syria to drive the Kurds away from the Turkish border is bringing more Western attention to the Kurds than they received during the long and bloody Syrian civil war, where they played a key role in defeating the Islamic State. Here are some important things to know about the Kurds.
The Turkish government is cracking down hard on internal dissent at the same time it lashes out against foreign criticism of “Operation Peace Spring,” its invasion of Syria to attack the Kurds.
Kurdish officials in Syria on Thursday accused the invading Turkish army of shelling the Chirkin prison, which is filled with captive Islamic State jihadis from 60 different countries. The Turkish government did not immediately respond to the allegation.
Kurdish militia leaders in Syria called the U.S. withdrawal announced Sunday in the region a “stab in the back” and vowed to defend their positions against Turkey “at all costs.”
The United States will not allow NATO member Turkey to attack U.S.-allied Kurds in Syria, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper declared this week.
BEIRUT — The US-led coalition said its Syrian allies have successfully dealt with an “incident” at a detention center in northeastern Syria which activists described as an attempted prison break by Islamic State jihadists.
NEAR BAGHOUZ, Syria — US-backed forces said several jihadists and dozens of civilians quit the Islamic State group’s last patch of territory in Syria Tuesday, and warned remaining fighters should surrender or face death.
The U.S. special envoy for Syria, James Jeffrey, used a speech at the Atlantic Council on Tuesday to describe American support for armed Kurdish groups in Syria as “transactional” and temporary.
The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), reportedly took back the last town held by the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) on Friday, further cementing the complete fall of the group’s so-called caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the United States, reportedly expressed a desire this week to negotiate the future of the swathes of territory it controls in northern Syria with the Iranian- and Russian-backed regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Contents: Syria’s al-Assad makes delusional threats to US military; Israel and Russia reach agreement to keep Iran out of Syria’s south
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdag said on Tuesday that it is “completely inconceivable to return Afrin back to the control of the Syrian regime” after Turkey invaded the northern border region in January.
Tensions between Turkey and France over French support for Syrian Kurds turned profoundly ugly on Friday, as Turkish officials including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened France with terrorist warfare as a consequence of its actions.
Not only is the Trump administration tough on Russia, but its toughness is also a function of a hard-headed strategy to diminish Russian power in Syria and throughout the Middle East.
U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis was optimistic on Thursday about finding “common ground” with Turkey in Syria, where Turkish troops and their local allies may be positioning for a strike against territory occupied by American troops.
Contents: US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) clash with Syrian regime forces; International Crisis Groups asks Russia to prevent Israel-Iran war in Syria
