EU criticizes Turkey’s offensive in Syrian town of Afrin
Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army soldiers celebrate around a statue of Kawa, a mythology figure in Kurdish culture, after they have destroyed it in the city center of Afrin, northwestern Syria, early Sunday, March 18, 2018. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that allied Syrian forces have taken “total” control of the town center of Afrin, the target of a nearly two-month-old Turkish offensive against a Syrian Kurdish militia, which said fighting was still underway. Erdogan said the Turkish flag and the flag of the Syrian opposition fighters have been raised in the town, previously controlled by the Kurdish militia known as the People’s Defense Units, or YPG. (Hasan Kırmızitaş/DHA-Depo Photos via AP) (Associated Press)
By Sarah El Deeb | AP March 19 at 6:06 AM
BEIRUT — The European Union’s top diplomat criticized Turkey on Monday over its military offensive in a northern Syrian town, calling on Ankara to ensure that fighting eases in the conflict-torn country.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/af ... 62236.html
A crucial question is where Erdogan goes from here. He may have got Afrin, but the main Syrian Kurdish zone stretches from the Arab city of Manbij, just west of the Euphrates to the Iraqi border, is still where it was. Here, unlike Afrin, the Kurdish and Kurdish-linked forces are under US protection. Very visible patrols of US armoured vehicles patrol the front line around Manbij. It will also be easier for the YPG to fight close to their main territorial bases.
The Kurds fear the US might abandon them, but purely from the point of view of US interests, the US needs an allied ground force in Syria if it is to remain a power there and the only candidates are the Kurds. “If the US abandons the Kurds, then it will have to leave Syria,” said one Kurdish leader. US commitment may ebb, but it has not happened yet. If Erdogan wants to move against the main Kurdish enclave in Syria, he will have to bide his time.
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The answer is easy:
Greece Syria Iraq get ready for WAR with Turkey under Dictator Erdogan