Syrian Kurds

Turkish Islamist strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan used his address before the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday to renew his calls for expanding Security Council membership, claim that his country had “actually fought the biggest battle against ISIS,” and politely suggest to genocidal China to recognize the rights of its Muslim population.

ISTANBUL (AP) – Turkey’s president has told journalists he still intends to block Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO.

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.

Washington (AFP) – Turkish NBA player Enes Kanter on Tuesday strongly condemned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the operation he launched against Kurdish forces in northern Syria.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Tuesday applauded President Trump’s decision to move about 50 American soldiers in northern Syria away from a frontline in a pending war between Turkey and Syrian Kurdish forces.

Trump is leveraging the full scope of American power to combat the threats our nation faces instead of simply relying on the military.

“Nobody” is willing to launch airstrikes to quell the growing threat posed by al-Qaeda-linked jihadis in Syria, who control more territory than any other terrorist organization in the country, a top Kurdish leader told Breitbart News.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once again attempted to convince American counterpart President Donald Trump to allow Turkey to control Manbij, a region in northern Syria under the auspices of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG/YPJ), in a phone call Sunday.

A representative for the Syrian Kurdish militia and political community in northern Syria rejected the idea of a Turkish-run “safe zone” in the region on Tuesday following U.S. troop departures, instead suggesting the United Nations should play a role.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday pledged to consider U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to establish a safe zone in northeastern Syria ahead of a planned Turkish offensive against the U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters who control the region.

The ardently pro-Turkish government newspaper Yeni Safak reported Monday that Ankara has prepared 80,000 troops to invade the Kurdish region of northern Syria in anticipation of the United States’ withdrawal from the area.

Turkey’s foreign minister claimed that the United States was struggling to withdraw troops from Syria because it had complicated the battlefield with its support of “terrorist” groups and that only severing ties with the Syrian Kurdish groups Turkey opposes could fix the problem.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan penned a New York Times opinion column published Monday in which he offered Turkey’s guidance in rebuilding the government of northern Syria without the presence of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG/YPJ), America’s closest battlefield ally in the country.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused to meet with U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton before he departed Ankara on Tuesday, claiming a scheduling conflict but assailing Bolton’s defense of Syrian Kurdish militias in remarks the same day.

U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton said in remarks during his trip to Israel Sunday that President Donald Trump does not intend to withdraw troops from Syria until he is satisfied with security guarantees for the Syrian Kurdish militias fighting there, which have played a key role in the defeat of the Islamic State.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance led by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), recently handed over control of territory near northern Syria’s Manbij region to the Russian and Iranian-allied regime of Bashar al-Assad in exchange for support in repelling an imminent attack by Turkey, the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) reported Tuesday.

Dramatic developments over recent days appear to mark a turning point for the U.S. and allies in the war on the Islamic State (ISIS) — almost certainly a drastic turn for the worst.

U.S.-allied Syrian Kurds have expressed deep reservations about Washington’s sudden decision to withdraw American troops from Syria, saying such a move amounts to a “betrayal” that leaves them vulnerable to attacks by Turkey and warning that it would lead to a resurgence of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL).

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on Thursday for deciding to withdraw American troops from the battlefield in Syria, alleging that the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group has been defeated and thus there is no compelling reason for American military action there.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed threats on Friday to expand his country’s military operations into northern Syrian territory controlled by the U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish fighters.

A former soldier in the British army has been sentenced to seven and a half years in a Turkish prison for terrorism offences after fighting Islamic State with a Western-allianced Kurdish militia in Syria.

Turkey is reportedly expected to enhance financial and medical support to factions from one of its top allies, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), as the rebel group continues to participate in Ankara’s offensive against U.S.-allied Kurds in northern Syria.

The United States is carrying out a routine “review” of its operations in Syria, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for the coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) declared on Tuesday in response to the commander-in-chief’s remarks that American troops will soon pull out of the country.

Kurdish forces have arrested 41 Swedish citizens in Syria who left Sweden to fight for the Islamic State with five being described as high-level members of the terror organisation.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told reporters this weekend that the United States had reached a “common understanding” with Turkey for a plan to expel its allies, the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG/YPJ), from northern Manbij, Syria.

The government of dictator Bashar al-Assad confirmed on Monday that it would send Syrian military troops into Afrin to fight against the Turkish military, which invaded the northern province last month.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters on Thursday that “sanctions are always on the table” regarding bilateral tensions, answering a question about whether Washington would ever sanction Turkey for its invasion of Syria.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson engaged in a “productive, open conversation” with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Thursday night, State Department officials said, engaging for more than three hours on growing disagreements over Erdogan’s decision to invade Syria.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson begins a pivotal visit to Turkey on Thursday evening intended to mend fences of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s repeated threats to attack U.S. soldiers in Syria.

Syrian Kurds have demanded the Turkish government be held responsible for a video surfacing showing Turkish-allied Free Syrian Army (FSA) combatants mutilating the body of a female Kurdish anti-jihadist fighter, stepping on her breasts, and taking selfies with her.

AFRIN, Syria — Syrian Kurds on Friday accused Turkey-backed rebels fighting them of mutilating then filming the body of one of their female fighters, after a video emerged of her corpse.

U.S. Central Command chief General Joseph Votel confirmed on Sunday that America has no intention of withdrawing from Manbij, northern Syria, despite Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowing an invasion of the city following an attack on Afrin, to Manbij’s west.

A Pentagon spokesperson deemed “Operation Olive Branch,” Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria to combat the U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish militia there, a “distraction” but ultimately “not a crisis” between the two NATO member countries in comments Thursday.

A spokesman for the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), an U.S.-allied militia currently under attack by the Turkish military, claimed on Friday that the group’s fighters had successfully thwarted all attacks against them in “Operation Olive Branch.”

Turkish government sources told the newspaper Hurriyet on Thursday that the White House readout of a call between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan “does not accurately reflect” the conversation and that its contents were “not true.”

Turkey’s military General Staff claimed on Tuesday that its “Operation Olive Branch,” an invasion of Afrin in northern Syria, killed “at least 260” Kurdish and Islamic State terrorists. The United States and its Syrian Kurdish allies have both denied there being a significant ISIS presence in that area.