Erdogan says Turkish offensive will target Syrian towns of Manbij and Raqqa

[T-123456]

Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (R) welcoming Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Bahrain on Feb. 12, 2017, in Manama. / AFP PHOTO


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sunday that after taking control of al-Bab, Turkish troops and Free Syrian Army forces will continue on to Manbij and Raqqa in northern Syria.

“We have been trying to cleanse the region of terrorists. Al-Bab is almost finished. Manbij and Raqqa are next. Al-Bab is not our final target. Our final target is to clear the region of Daesh [Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)]. The real center of Daesh is Raqqa,” Erdoğan said during a press conference at Istanbul Atatürk Airport before departing for a trip to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Erdoğan said Turkish troops and Syrian rebel allies have entered the ISIL-held al-Bab, adding that its capture was “just a matter of time.”

Manbij is under the control of Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) forces, while Raqqa is in ISIL territory.

Raqqa is in ISIL territory.

“Our target is to create a four to five thousand-square-kilometer terrorist-free zone. By creating a safe area we want to stop the flow of refugees and asylum seekers, and by establishing settlement areas we want to return people living in camps in Turkey to their land,” added Erdoğan, stating that he has already shared Turkey’s plan to establish new cities in the area with US President Donald Trump and other coalition forces including Germany.

With the death of another soldier, Turkey has lost 72 troops since the beginning of Operation Euphrates Shield on Aug. 24 in northern Syria.
https://www.turkishminute.com/2017/02/12/erdogan-says-raqqa-manbij-next-targets/

 

[Saithan]

27 october 2016......

 

[Baybars Han]

Raqqa is not our business, we cant waste more resources there. FSA is already stretched and limited force as it is.

 

[Kebapçı Erhan]

Raqqa is not our business, we cant waste more resources there. FSA is already stretched and limited force as it is.

Raqqa is our business because without Raqqa YPG can connect with Assad from there and still establish their defect corridor. Always keep in mind that the two work together, YPG just gave villages east of Afrin to Assad.

Here is why Raqqa is our business from a strategic perspective:

Assad will advanced to the Euphrates river from Tadef beneath Al-Bab, from there he will advance south towards Thawrah right across from Raqqa. Take a short look at the roads and bridges on the map below. In order to fully prevent a PKK corridor Manbij in addition to Raqqa needs to be taken by Turkey. Don't be surprised if the Turkish military launches an assault on Tal-Abyad North of Raqqa and from there head south. FSA units can even be brought over through Turkey the same way Peshmerga was brought into Ayn Al Arab. Just look at the roads and you will see the reason for Raqaa.

Please read this article
https://www.thenation.com/article/have-the-syrian-kurds-committed-war-crimes/

@what Assad and PYD are on the same side.

 

[SouI]

because without Raqqa YPG can connect with Assad from there and still establish their defect corridor.

I didn't know Assad was also a Kurdish nationalist!

 

[CrimsonFury]

I didn't know Assad was also a Kurdish nationalist!

Assad will he the nationalist of anyone that saves his skin. He is a Russian nationalist as well as a Iranian nationalist, if it helps his cause, he will be a Kurdish nationalist too

 

[Kebapçı Erhan]

I didn't know Assad was also a Kurdish nationalist!

Yes, read article in detail, they just use PKK against Turkey.

 

[SouI]

Yes, read article in detail, they just use PKK against Turkey.

I thought PKK was a problem for them too.

 

[xenon54 out]

I thought PKK was a problem for them too.

Hafez Assad was cooperating with PKK against Turkey so that booth countries almost went on war with eachother.
Newly published CIA documents confirmed the open secret.

Suriye'nin PKK'ya desteği CIA belgelerinde

 

[SouI]

Hafez Assad was cooperating with PKK against Turkey so that booth countries almost went on war with eachother.
Newly published CIA documents confirmed the open secret.

Suriye'nin PKK'ya desteği CIA belgelerinde

But it is about Bashar now. The ex Iranian presidents also supported PKK, they changed now.

The main question that comes to my mind, is... Erdogan knew all this, right?

Then why did he invite bashar's family to Antalya and tried to be friends with him if he also knew bashar also was supporting PKK?

 

[xenon54 out]

But it is about Bashar now. The ex Iranian presidents also supported PKK, they changed now.

The main question that comes to my mind, is... Erdogan knew all this, right?

Then why did he invite bashar's family to Antalya and tried to be friends with him if he also knew bashar also was supporting PKK?

Just pointing out that a Assad-pkk cooperations wont be very surprising.

 

[Orez]

But it is about Bashar now. The ex Iranian presidents also supported PKK, they changed now.

The main question that comes to my mind, is... Erdogan knew all this, right?

Then why did he invite bashar's family to Antalya and tried to be friends with him if he also knew bashar also was supporting PKK?

Because Erdogan wanted Bachar to be his friend and then help him against PKK, either by fighting them directly or pushing them to accept Turkey's condition for the peace.

Its not concidence if Turkey begin to negociate with PKK only after Turkey begin to have good relationship with its neigbours : Iran, Irak, Syria......

Anyways its too late now, Erdogan's mistake during arab spring have changed everything, we are not friend anymore with our neighbours and worst PKK become much stronger in Syria.

And yes we cannot trust Assad with PKK/YPG. Have they even fight really each other ? No, they more allied than anything :
-http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/what-role-are-kurdish-ypg-forces-playing-aleppo-554547107
-https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/comment/2016/8/26/ypg-and-assad-pragmatic-allies-but-unwilling-bedfellows
-http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/kurdish-forces-bolster-assad-in-aleppo

Assad will not fight PKK/YPG.....he will give them North Syria behind federation zone if PKK/YPG promise to only attack Turkey and not his syrian regime.

Bachar will without a doublt use his father plan against Turkey, use PKK to hurt Turkey.

 

[Glavcom]

Military group Islamic State again knocked out of the Turkish military and the pro-Turkish terrorists from the Syrian Free Army of Al-Bab. The Turks held a number of suburban sites. At the same time the Turkish representative literally said yesterday that the city was taken, it is cleansing, gunmen dumped outside the city limits.

The fact that during the war the Turks lie more than fishing and hunting, it is a fact. But in this war, the bar dropped altogether. Turks lied the last time! Before Iraqis, of course, it is far from the Turks, but the efforts were not to occupy the Turks. Turk can understand: there is the legend of the Turkish army, as the "strongest" in the region. According to figures out that way, but that's quite a feasible task regiment, Brigadier maximum, level, is simply unaffordable for the Turkish army!

 

[Oghuz Turk]

Military group Islamic State again knocked out of the Turkish military and the pro-Turkish terrorists from the Syrian Free Army of Al-Bab. The Turks held a number of suburban sites. At the same time the Turkish representative literally said yesterday that the city was taken, it is cleansing, gunmen dumped outside the city limits.

The fact that during the war the Turks lie more than fishing and hunting, it is a fact. But in this war, the bar dropped altogether. Turks lied the last time! Before Iraqis, of course, it is far from the Turks, but the efforts were not to occupy the Turks. Turk can understand: there is the legend of the Turkish army, as the "strongest" in the region. According to figures out that way, but that's quite a feasible task regiment, Brigadier maximum, level, is simply unaffordable for the Turkish army!

What the hell are you on? You lost your city without fight lol? You as an ukrainian don't have any right to criticize Turkey. Your country is fake filled with a population that's "famous" for incredible acts of sadism and mass murder.
Know your place.

 

[CrimsonFury]

Military group Islamic State again knocked out of the Turkish military and the pro-Turkish terrorists from the Syrian Free Army of Al-Bab. The Turks held a number of suburban sites. At the same time the Turkish representative literally said yesterday that the city was taken, it is cleansing, gunmen dumped outside the city limits.

The fact that during the war the Turks lie more than fishing and hunting, it is a fact. But in this war, the bar dropped altogether. Turks lied the last time! Before Iraqis, of course, it is far from the Turks, but the efforts were not to occupy the Turks. Turk can understand: there is the legend of the Turkish army, as the "strongest" in the region. According to figures out that way, but that's quite a feasible task regiment, Brigadier maximum, level, is simply unaffordable for the Turkish army!

A Ukrainian, who's country surrendered territory without even firing a bullet at the real invaders (Russians), has no right to make a judgement on warfare. The only reason why anyone still visits your miserable shit hole of a country is because the women are very beautiful and quite easy to have (I'd have a lot fun with as much as 3 of your countrywomen for only 500$) since you useless Ukrainian men are either dirt poor or too busy getting killed by rebels in the East because your country is too dirt poor to properly equip you, all that has to be done is fly in on a Friday and do whatever you want in Kiev. Your country is the worlds cumdumpster.