Syrian Civil War (Graphic Photos/Vid Not Allowed)

[Hindustani78]

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1228066/middle-east

BEIRUT: Syria’s main opposition group on Wednesday condemned the US-led coalition's plan to create a 30,000-strong border force on the war-torn country’s northern frontier with Turkey.

The alliance fighting Daesh announced on Sunday that it was working with Arab and Kurdish fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to establish a border security force.

The proposed force has been denounced by Damascus, while Turkey — which considers the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) “terrorists” — has vowed to nip it “in the bud.”

The exiled Syrian National Council opposition group, in a statement, condemned the “US plan for a border force” and said “it was unacceptable” for areas liberated from Daesh to fall under Kurdish control.

The Kurds have sought to remain neutral in Syria’s nearly seven-year-old war between rebels and the government.
With US backing, the YPG, the main element of the SDF, has seized swathes of territory in northern and eastern Syria from Daesh and established semi-autonomous rule in those areas.

The US-led coalition insists the border force would be responsible for stopping a resurgence of Daesh.

*****************

Hatay Province

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1228071/middle-east

The Kurdish militia, which forms the backbone of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, now controls nearly 25 percent of Syrian territory. It is the US-led coalition’s chief ally in the campaign against Daesh in Syria.

The US-led coalition recently said it is planning a 30,000-strong Kurdish-led border force, further angering Turkey.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he told US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that those plans were a “perilous” step that would “seriously endanger ties.” The two met in Vancouver on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Syrian activists said Turkish military activities near the borders with Afrin have continued, as well as shelling of the outskirts of the town.

Tanks amassed near the border with Syria, while Turkish media reported that medical personnel in Kilis, a Turkish town across the border from Afrin, were asked not to take leave, apparently in anticipation of military operations.

Turkey’s private Dogan News Agency quoted Turkey-backed Syrian rebels as saying they are awaiting Turkish orders to launch the Afrin operations. It said some 3,000 fighters are ready to participate in operations against Afrin and Manbij.

************
Sanliurfa

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1228081/middle-east

ANKARA: Turkish troops and tanks were seen on Wednesday near the Afrin region of Syria’s northwestern border with Turkey, suggesting Ankara’s long-threatened attack on US-backed Syrian Kurds is imminent. Turkey’s top security board also convened on Wednesday, under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to discuss the prospective military offensive on Afrin.

“Manbij is a buffer zone and a bridgehead where Russia and the United States have interests,” he told Arab News. “The north of Manbij is under the control of the YPG, while the southern part is held by the (Syrian President Bashar) Assad regime.”

According to Gurcan, threatening an offensive against Manbij may be Turkey’s strategy to escalate tension “in a controlled way” and to show “determination” ahead of the military operation.

“In military terms, it would be unfeasible and very tough to conduct an operation first by advancing to the west, and then turning in the opposite direction. It would be less effective because of its extended scope,” he noted.

“In Manbij, Turkey runs the risk of upsetting both Russia and the US. In that case, Ankara would have to negotiate with these two countries, and make concessions. This would further complicate the situation,” Gurcan explained.

***********

 

[Kamil_baku]

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1228066/middle-east

BEIRUT: Syria’s main opposition group on Wednesday condemned the US-led coalition's plan to create a 30,000-strong border force on the war-torn country’s northern frontier with Turkey.

The alliance fighting Daesh announced on Sunday that it was working with Arab and Kurdish fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to establish a border security force.

The proposed force has been denounced by Damascus, while Turkey — which considers the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) “terrorists” — has vowed to nip it “in the bud.”

The exiled Syrian National Council opposition group, in a statement, condemned the “US plan for a border force” and said “it was unacceptable” for areas liberated from Daesh to fall under Kurdish control.

The Kurds have sought to remain neutral in Syria’s nearly seven-year-old war between rebels and the government.
With US backing, the YPG, the main element of the SDF, has seized swathes of territory in northern and eastern Syria from Daesh and established semi-autonomous rule in those areas.

The US-led coalition insists the border force would be responsible for stopping a resurgence of Daesh.

*****************

Hatay Province

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1228071/middle-east

The Kurdish militia, which forms the backbone of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, now controls nearly 25 percent of Syrian territory. It is the US-led coalition’s chief ally in the campaign against Daesh in Syria.

The US-led coalition recently said it is planning a 30,000-strong Kurdish-led border force, further angering Turkey.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he told US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that those plans were a “perilous” step that would “seriously endanger ties.” The two met in Vancouver on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Syrian activists said Turkish military activities near the borders with Afrin have continued, as well as shelling of the outskirts of the town.

Tanks amassed near the border with Syria, while Turkish media reported that medical personnel in Kilis, a Turkish town across the border from Afrin, were asked not to take leave, apparently in anticipation of military operations.

Turkey’s private Dogan News Agency quoted Turkey-backed Syrian rebels as saying they are awaiting Turkish orders to launch the Afrin operations. It said some 3,000 fighters are ready to participate in operations against Afrin and Manbij.

************
Sanliurfa

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1228081/middle-east

ANKARA: Turkish troops and tanks were seen on Wednesday near the Afrin region of Syria’s northwestern border with Turkey, suggesting Ankara’s long-threatened attack on US-backed Syrian Kurds is imminent. Turkey’s top security board also convened on Wednesday, under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to discuss the prospective military offensive on Afrin.

“Manbij is a buffer zone and a bridgehead where Russia and the United States have interests,” he told Arab News. “The north of Manbij is under the control of the YPG, while the southern part is held by the (Syrian President Bashar) Assad regime.”

According to Gurcan, threatening an offensive against Manbij may be Turkey’s strategy to escalate tension “in a controlled way” and to show “determination” ahead of the military operation.

“In military terms, it would be unfeasible and very tough to conduct an operation first by advancing to the west, and then turning in the opposite direction. It would be less effective because of its extended scope,” he noted.

“In Manbij, Turkey runs the risk of upsetting both Russia and the US. In that case, Ankara would have to negotiate with these two countries, and make concessions. This would further complicate the situation,” Gurcan explained.

***********

There is big difference that Turkey first said ill hit Afrin within a week and then negotiate than it was mentioned above.. basically Turkey said i dont care whats your plan but once it threats my future security, im ready to go in war with anybody, obviously it doesnt work for anybody to start a big war with Turkey. Actually i wonder whats gonna be in mumbich after Afrin

 

[SubWater]

There is big difference that Turkey first said ill hit Afrin within a week and then negotiate than it was mentioned above.. basically Turkey said i dont care whats your plan but once it threats my future security, im ready to go in war with anybody, obviously it doesnt work for anybody to start a big war with Turkey. Actually i wonder whats gonna be in mumbich after Afrin

Are you thinking about Manbij now?
It seems that some guys conquered Afrin in the Internet, and now is manbij turn.

 

[yavar]

US Tillerson troops to stay in Syria to counter Iran تیلرسون ماندن در سوریه برای مقابله با ایران

 

[Kamil_baku]

Are you thinking about Manbij now?
It seems that some guys conquered Afrin in the Internet, and now is manbij turn.

Afrin is going to be Turkish within a month... If you are a man, im talking like not a bitch, lets meet here and tag me in a month... then lets talk about Mumbich..

 

[SubWater]

Afrin is going to be Turkish within a month... If you are a man, im talking like not a bitch, lets meet here and tag me in a month... then lets talk about Mumbich..

Ok, I will tag you at Feb 19
Let's see what will happen

 

[ejaz007]

US Plans to Prevent Syria's Stabilization as Sovereign State - Former UK Envoy
© AFP 2018/ George OURFALIAN
MIDDLE EAST
18:39 18.01.2018(updated 19:42 18.01.2018)Get short URL
13401
Sputnik spoke to former UK ambassador to Syria, Peter Ford, to ask whether any further US involvement in the Syrian conflict is only likely to exacerbate division in the country, thus perpetuating the war.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson suggested on Wednesday that the Trump administration would be taking on an open-ended military commitment to Syria as part of a stated strategy to prevent the regrowth of Daesh and to forge a new 'solution' that hopes to remove Syrian President Bashar al-Assad removed from power.

Sputnik: The US — under both the Obama and Trump administrations — has long framed its objective in Syria rather narrowly to the defeat of Daesh. Now that the terrorist group's so-called caliphate is effectively gone, and there are forces in the country — such as the Syrian Arab Army — capable of destroying any possible Daesh resurgence, why does the US need to remain?

Peter Ford: Well it doesn't is the simple and obvious truth. In its own eyes, it needs to remain because Trump is being accused of having lost Syria to the Russians. This is, quite simply, now a power play by the US to show that it still has influence in Syria and the wider Middle East, and it's part of the US power game against Iran. It has nothing to do with removing terrorism from Syria, nothing to do with humanitarian issues, nothing to do with democracy in Syria. It's quite simply arm wrestling that the United States wishes to engage in with Russia or any other power that dares to question, in the slightest way, American pre-eminence in the world.


Sputnik: How do you see the potential long-term presence of US forces in the country hindering any effort to reunify Syria in the future?

Peter Ford: This appears to be part of the US plan: precisely to prevent Syria being stabilized as a unitary sovereign state. It has been a long-term goal of the United States going back at least forty years, and now they see a way of partially implementing it: encouraging the formation of a Kurdish statelet in the north and northeast. There is no way that this can help to stabilize Syria. In fact, I would characterize the US policy — now openly more or less avowed by Tillerson — as the continuing destabilization of Syria. Given that America cannot impose its will in terms of regime change, it's settling for what it sees as the next best thing, which is to keep Syria constantly destabilized.

Sputnik: And finally, what does international law have to say about the US first of all even being in Syria, and secondly maintaining a presence there, uninvited by Damascus?

Peter Ford: What the Americans are doing is completely flouting international law. It is a gross breach of international law to maintain a presence on the territory of a member state of the United Nations, which has a seat in New York, which is recognized by most countries around the world. It is totally illegal to maintain a military presence without the express permission of the host government. But America plays by different rules. In the American playbook might is right for America. America is a scofflaw, an international scofflaw and has been in many instances, not only Syria.

The views and opinions expressed by Peter Ford do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201801181060860515-syria-us-unitary-sovereign-state/

 

[Hindustani78]

Reyhanli , Turkish-Syrian Border

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1228946/middle-east

BEIRUT: The Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said Turkish forces had fired around 70 shells at Kurdish villages in the Afrin region of northwestern Syria in a bombardment from Turkish territory that began around midnight and continued into Friday morning.

Rojhat Roj, a YPG spokesman in Afrin, said it marked the heaviest Turkish bombardment since the Turkish government stepped up threats to take military action against the Kurdish region. Roj, speaking from Afrin, said the YPG would respond with utmost force to any attack on Afrin.

*************
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1228791/middle-east

ISTANBUL: Turkey has ramped up its rhetoric to threaten an imminent cross-border incursion against Kurdish militia in Syria but the attitude of Russia and to a lesser extent the US will determine the nature of the operation, analysts say.

The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia controls key northern Syrian towns including Manbij and Afrin, and is an ally of the US but Ankara accuses the group of being a terror organization.

Tensions have risen to a new peak in the last days after the US announced plans for a new 30,000-strong border security force in northern Syria that would be composed partly of YPG fighters.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to destroy the force, describing it as an “army of terror.”

“The preparations have been completed, the operation could start at any moment,” Erdogan said this week, as the Turkish army sent dozens of military vehicles and hundreds of additional personnel to the border area.

Yet executing the operation on the ground — especially against a well-populated urban center such as Afrin — could prove much harder than making threats in fiery language.

Crucial will be the attitude of Russia, which has worked increasingly closely with Turkey on Syria in the last year but has a military presence in the area where it cooperates with the YPG.

“Can Ankara dare to attack Afrin without getting a green light from Russia? It’s a sure ‘no’ for me,” said Metin Gurcan, security analyst at Istanbul Policy Center and Al Monitor columnist.

He said that despite the increasingly inflammatory language from Erdogan, a full operation would require that Russia open Afrin’s air space to Turkey and withdraw its soldiers from the area.

Tensions between Moscow and Ankara have grown in the last days as Russia seeks wide attendance at a peace conference on Syria at the end of the month. But Turkey insists it will not attend if the YPG is there.

In a potentially decisive meeting, Turkey’s Army Chief Gen. Hulusi Akar and spy supremo Hakan Fidan held talks in Moscow on Thursday with Russian counterparts on Syria.

“The only external power that can stop an invasion at this point is Russia,” said Aaron Stein, resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center.

He said Erdogan had threatened incursions inside Syria “once a week, every week” for the past year since the Euphrates Shield incursion Turkey launched in August 2016, which ended the following spring.

“What makes this different is that the rhetoric is far more specific, pointed and hostile toward the US. I assume that he will carry out his threat, but the scale of the operation is still an unanswered question,” he said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu insisted Thursday that Russia would not oppose an Afrin operation, saying that Ankara needed to coordinate with Moscow to ensure its military observers on the ground were not harmed.

Aaron Lund, a fellow with The Century Foundation, said that “it would be hard for Erdogan to back down at this point” following such “loud and persistent” threats.

He said if the operation turned into full-out combat, much of the actual fighting would be done by Turkey-backed Syrian rebel forces like in the Euphrates Shield operation.

But he added that Afrin has tough terrain and was well fortified while the “YPG is a disciplined and effective force.”

Moreover, any Turkish intervention may not find the warmest of receptions in Washington, which has closely cooperated with the YPG as its main ally on the ground in the fight against the Islamic State extremist group.

Yet Afrin — which lies to the west of the main Kurdish zone of influence in Syria — may not be a prime concern of Washington which is more interested in the Kurdish-controlled areas stretching east to the Iraqi border.
“As far as I can tell, the Americans do not view Afrin as being their problem,” said Lund, saying the American military was in Syria on a “fairly narrow counter-terrorism mandate.”

“That said, they must be worried that this could create trouble for them” especially if Turkey fired on YPG-controlled areas to the east with a US presence, he said.

Stein said there was a “recognition in Washington that this is a Turkish show” and “little to be done to dissuade Erdogan” if he chooses to go ahead with the incursion.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/russia-starts-withdrawing-troops-from-syrias-afrin/1035701

Russia on Friday started withdrawing its military assets ahead of Turkey’s expected operation in Syria’s northwestern city of Afrin.

The Russian security forces deployed in northeast Kafr Jana region of Afrin city started leaving the area, according to reliable sources in Afrin.

Some of the Russian security assets have reached Nubl and Zahra towns, on the outskirts of Afrin, which were currently held by the Assad regime.

An operation in Afrin -- a region bordering Turkey's Hatay and Kilis provinces -- is widely expected in the wake of Turkey's successful seven-month Operation Euphrates Shield in northern Syria, which ended in March 2017.

The Bashar al-Assad regime handed over Afrin to the PYD/PKK without putting up a fight, and there are currently some 8,000-10,000 terrorists in the area, according to information gathered by Anadolu Agency.

After Turkey warned of their presence in Afrin, terrorists are now hiding out in shelters and pits in residential areas there.

The PYD/PKK is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terrorist group, which has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.

Since the mid-1980s, the PKK has waged a wide-ranging terror campaign against the Turkish state in which an estimated 40,000 people have been killed.

Reporting by Mohamad Misto and Levent Tok:Writing by Sibel Ugurlu

Tension increases in Afrin line
Watch towers of PKK/PYD terrorist organizations are seen in Idlib, Syria on January 19, 2018. ( Onur Çoban - Anadolu Agency )





A member of the Free Syrian Army fires towards terrorist organizations PKK/PYD side in Idlib, Syria on January 19, 2018. ( Onur Çoban - Anadolu Agency )


A member of the Free Syrian Army fires towards terrorist organizations PKK/PYD side in Idlib, Syria on January 19, 2018. ( Onur Çoban - Anadolu Agency )



A member of the Free Syrian Army holds his gun as he sits on the floor in Idlib, Syria on January 19, 2018. ( Onur Çoban - Anadolu Agency )

A general view of PKK/PYD watch towers is seen in Idlib, Syria on January 19, 2018. ( Onur Çoban - Anadolu Agency )

A member of the Free Syrian Army holds his gun as he leans on a bulwark in Idlib, Syria on January 19, 2018. ( Onur Çoban - Anadolu Agency )


Members of the Free Syrian Army are seen in Idlib, Syria on January 19, 2018. ( Onur Çoban - Anadolu Agency )



Member of the Free Syrian Army are seen on a bulwark in Idlib, Syria on January 19, 2018. ( Onur Çoban - Anadolu Agency )

Member of the Free Syrian Army are seen on a bulwark in Idlib, Syria on January 19, 2018. ( Onur Çoban - Anadolu Agency )

A member of the Free Syrian Army checks a machine gun on a bulwark in Idlib, Syria on January 19, 2018. ( Onur Çoban - Anadolu Agency )

A member of the Free Syrian Army fires towards terrorist organizations PKK/PYD side in Idlib, Syria on January 19, 2018. ( Onur Çoban - Anadolu Agency )

 

[Mohammed al-Faruqi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/953954394591997952

 

[500]

UN: 212 thousand people ethnically cleansed since the beginning of Assadist offensive in Idlib.

https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefw...nts_in_north-western_syria_final_20180116.pdf

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1229596/middle-east

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Ankara has launched an operation on the ground to oust Kurdish militia from the Syrian town of Afrin.

“The Afrin operation has de-facto been started on the ground,” Erdogan said in a televised speech in the city of Kutahya, without elaborating.

“This will be followed by Manbij,” he added, referring to another Kurdish-controlled Syrian town to the east.
Afrin and Manbij are controlled by the People’s Protection Units (YPG) Syrian Kurdish militia, which Ankara regards as a terror group.

Turkey has in recent days sent dozens of military vehicles and hundreds of troops to the border area amid repeated threats from top officials that an operation could be launched at any moment.

Turkish forces have over the last two days shelled YPG targets around Afrin and also mobilized pro-Ankara rebel fighters in Syria for the offensive.

“The promises made to us over Manbij were not kept. So nobody can object if we do what is necessary,” said Erdogan, referring to past American assurances that the YPG would move out of Afrin.

“Later we will, step by step, clear our country up to the Iraqi border from this terror filth that is trying to besiege our country.”

He added that Turkey would “step by step” destroy a “terror corridor” that he said had been set up by the YPG.
Turkey accuses the YPG of being the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which has waged a rebellion in the Turkish southeast for more than three decades and is regarded as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.

But the YPG has been the key ally of Turkey’s fellow NATO member the United States in the fight against Daesh terrorists, playing a key role in pushing the extremists out of their Syrian strongholds.

*************

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1229761/middle-east

ANKARA, Turkey: Syrian state TV says government forces have reached the perimeter of a rebel-held air base deep inside what was once opposition territory in northwest Syria.

The station said on Saturday the government is attacking Abu Dhuhour base in Idlib province.

Pro-government forces reached the base earlier this month but pulled back 10 days ago to fight off a counter-offensive by rebels and Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group says pro-government forces have surrounded Abu Dhuhour base from three sides.

Rebels took over the base in 2015 but have not been able to use it as an airfield because they do not have an air force.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s military says it has retaliated against fire into Turkey from across the border in a Kurdish-controlled enclave in northwest Syria.

A brief military statement said Saturday the military responded to two days of “harassment” by attacking refuges and shelters in the enclave of Afrin allegedly belonging to a Syrian Kurdish militia group that Turkey considers to be a “terror” organization. The military did not provide details.

Turkey has vowed to launch a ground operation into Afrin to eradicate the threat from the group it says is an extension of Kurdish rebels fighting inside Turkey. It has been massing troops and tanks at its border.

Turkey’s defense minister said Thursday the offensive into Afrin had “de facto” started, in reference to sporadic Turkish military shelling of the area.

********

http://aa.com.tr/en/todays-headlines/turkish-security-forces-hit-pyd-pkk-in-syrias-afrin/1036582

Turkish security forces on Saturday hit several PYD/PKK targets in the besieged Syrian border town of Afrin in order to prevent a "terror corridor" from forming along Turkey's borders.

Turkish army launched at least 15 rounds of artillery fire, targeting the terror nests of the terror organization in Afrin, a northern district of the Aleppo province.

On Saturday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that a ground operation in Syria's Afrin had been launched.

Addressing the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party's sixth annual provincial congress in western city of Kutahya, Erdogan said an operation in Manbij in Syria will come after Afrin because "promises made to Turkey have not been kept."

Military vehicles and work machines sent to reinforce the troops stationed at the Syrian border were already in Turkey's Hatay province.

Turkey has long protested the U.S. support for the PYD -- the Syrian offshoot of the terrorist PKK -- and its military wing the YPG.

Washington has called the terrorist group a "reliable ally" in its fight against Daesh in Syria even though its mother organization, the PKK, is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU, having waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years, killing nearly 40,000 people.



Turkey continues to deploy military trucks to Syrian border

People hang Turkish flags in Sugedigi neighbourhood of Hassa district in Hatay, Turkey on January 19, 2018. Ten busses carrying commandos to reinforce the border units arrived in Hatay. ( Cem Genco - Anadolu Agency )



Deployed Turkish Army tanks to reinforce the border units are seen in Hatay, Turkey on January 19, 2018. ( Cem Genco - Anadolu Agency )


Deployed Turkish Army tanks to reinforce the border units are seen in Hatay, Turkey on January 19, 2018. ( Cem Genco - Anadolu Agency )


Deployed Turkish Army tanks to reinforce the border units are seen in Hatay, Turkey on January 19, 2018. ( Cem Genco - Anadolu Agency )


Deployed Turkish Army tanks to reinforce the border units are seen in Hatay, Turkey on January 19, 2018. ( Cem Genco - Anadolu Agency )

 

[Hack-Hook]

UN: 212 thousand people ethnically cleansed since the beginning of Assadist offensive in Idlib.

https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefw...nts_in_north-western_syria_final_20180116.pdf

Well if you care for civilllian too much tell the terrorists not to use civilians as shield and like SAA several year ago when they saw they can't hold the area pull out of region instead of making people home as battleground.

 

[Mohammed al-Faruqi]

15 refugees, including women and children, freeze to death while fleeing Assad's Nakba

https://twitter.com/x/status/954451729529163776

 

[500]

Well if you care for civilllian too much tell the terrorists not to use civilians as shield and like SAA several year ago when they saw they can't hold the area pull out of region instead of making people home as battleground.

Civilians are #1 target for Khamenai aka Assadist thugs. There are only 2 mln Alawis in 22 mln Syria, so order to hold the grown they ethnically cleanse and murder as much as possible.