Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was believed to have been killed in a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-states-diplomat-unaware-of-possible-quid-pro-quo-on-ukraine-258326">United States</a>&nbsp;military operation in Syria, sources in Syria, Iraq and Iran said on Sunday, as US&nbsp;President Donald Trump prepared to make a "major statement" at the White House.

A US&nbsp;official, speaking on condition of anonymity, earlier told Reuters Baghdadi was targeted in the overnight raid but was unable to say whether the operation was successful.

A commander of one of the militant factions in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib said Baghdadi was believed to have been killed in a raid after midnight on Saturday involving helicopters, warplanes and a ground clash in the village of Brisha near the Turkish border.

Two Iraqi security sources and two Iranian officials said they had received confirmation from inside Syria that Baghdadi had been killed.

"Iran was informed about Baghdadi's death by Syrian officials who got it from the field," one of the officials said.

Newsweek, which first reported the news, said it had been told by a US&nbsp;Army official briefed on the raid that Baghdadi was dead. It said the operation was carried out by special operations forces after receiving actionable intelligence.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

White House spokesman Hogan Gidley announced late on Saturday that Trump would make a "major statement" at 1300 GMT&nbsp;on Sunday.

Gidley gave no further details as to the topic of Trump's statement.

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Something very big has just happened!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1188264965930700801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/islamic-state-leader-targeted-by-united-states-forces-as-trump-plans-sunday-statement-258337">president gave an indication</a> that something was afoot earlier on Saturday night when he tweeted without explanation, "Something very big has just happened!"

Trump has faced withering criticism from both Republicans and Democrats alike for his US&nbsp;troop withdrawal from northeastern Syria, which permitted Turkey to attack America's Kurdish allies.

Many critics of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-states-lawmakers-hear-from-corroborating-witness-in-trump-impeachment-probe-258323">Trump</a>'s Syria pullout have expressed worries that it would lead the Islamic State militancy to regain strength and pose a threat to US&nbsp;interests. An announcement about Baghdadi's death could help blunt those concerns.

For days, US&nbsp;officials had feared that Islamic State would seek to capitalise on the upheaval in Syria. But they also saw a potential opportunity, in which Islamic State leaders might break from more secretive routines to communicate with operatives, potentially creating a chance for the United States and its allies to detect them.

Baghdadi was long thought to hiding somewhere along the Iraq-Syria border. He has led the group since 2010, when it was still an underground al Qaeda offshoot in Iraq.

On September&nbsp;16, Islamic State's media network issued a 30-minute audio message purporting to come from Baghdadi, in which he said operations were taking place daily and called on supporters to free women jailed in camps in Iraq and Syria over their alleged links to his group.

In the audio message, Baghdadi also said the United States and its proxies had been defeated in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that the United States had been "dragged" into Mali and Niger.

At the height of its power, Islamic State ruled over millions of people in territory running from northern Syria through towns and villages along the Tigris and Euphrates valleys to the outskirts of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

But the fall in 2017 of Mosul and Raqqa, its strongholds in Iraq and Syria respectively, stripped Baghdadi, an Iraqi, of the trappings of a caliph and turned him into a fugitive thought to be moving along the desert border between Iraq and Syria.

US&nbsp;airstrikes killed most of his top lieutenants, and before Islamic State published a video message of Baghdadi in April there had been conflicting reports over whether he was alive.

Despite losing its last significant territory, Islamic State is believed to have sleeper cells around the world, and some fighters operate from the shadows in Syria's desert and Iraq's cities.

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was believed to have been killed in a United States military operation in Syria, sources in Syria, Iraq and Iran said on Sunday, as US President Donald Trump prepared to make a "major statement" at the White House.

Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was believed to have been killed in a United States military operation in Syria, sources in Syria, Iraq and Iran said on Sunday, as US President Donald Trump prepared to make a "major statement" at the White House. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, earlier told Reuters Baghdadi was targeted in the overnight raid but was unable to say whether the operation was successful. A commander of one of the militant factions in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib said Baghdadi was believed to have been killed in a raid after midnight on Saturday involving helicopters, warplanes and a ground clash in the village of Brisha near the Turkish border. Two Iraqi security sources and two Iranian officials said they had received confirmation from inside Syria that Baghdadi had been killed. "Iran was informed about Baghdadi's death by Syrian officials who got it from the field," one of the officials said. Newsweek, which first reported the news, said it had been told by a US Army official briefed on the raid that Baghdadi was dead. It said the operation was carried out by special operations forces after receiving actionable intelligence. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. White House spokesman Hogan Gidley announced late on Saturday that Trump would make a "major statement" at 1300 GMT on Sunday. Gidley gave no further details as to the topic of Trump's statement. Something very big has just happened! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 27, 2019 × The president gave an indication that something was afoot earlier on Saturday night when he tweeted without explanation, "Something very big has just happened!" Trump has faced withering criticism from both Republicans and Democrats alike for his US troop withdrawal from northeastern Syria, which permitted Turkey to attack America's Kurdish allies. Many critics of Trump's Syria pullout have expressed worries that it would lead the Islamic State militancy to regain strength and pose a threat to US interests. An announcement about Baghdadi's death could help blunt those concerns. For days, US officials had feared that Islamic State would seek to capitalise on the upheaval in Syria. But they also saw a potential opportunity, in which Islamic State leaders might break from more secretive routines to communicate with operatives, potentially creating a chance for the United States and its allies to detect them. Baghdadi was long thought to hiding somewhere along the Iraq-Syria border. He has led the group since 2010, when it was still an underground al Qaeda offshoot in Iraq. On September 16, Islamic State's media network issued a 30-minute audio message purporting to come from Baghdadi, in which he said operations were taking place daily and called on supporters to free women jailed in camps in Iraq and Syria over their alleged links to his group. In the audio message, Baghdadi also said the United States and its proxies had been defeated in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that the United States had been "dragged" into Mali and Niger. At the height of its power, Islamic State ruled over millions of people in territory running from northern Syria through towns and villages along the Tigris and Euphrates valleys to the outskirts of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. But the fall in 2017 of Mosul and Raqqa, its strongholds in Iraq and Syria respectively, stripped Baghdadi, an Iraqi, of the trappings of a caliph and turned him into a fugitive thought to be moving along the desert border between Iraq and Syria. US airstrikes killed most of his top lieutenants, and before Islamic State published a video message of Baghdadi in April there had been conflicting reports over whether he was alive. Despite losing its last significant territory, Islamic State is believed to have sleeper cells around the world, and some fighters operate from the shadows in Syria's desert and Iraq's cities.

Islamic State leader Baghdadi reportedly killed in Syria by United States forces

The <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-states-lawmakers-hear-from-corroborating-witness-in-trump-impeachment-probe-258323">United States</a>&nbsp;military conducted an operation against elusive Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Saturday, a US&nbsp;official said, as US&nbsp;President Donald Trump prepared to make a "major statement" at the White House on Sunday morning.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, was unable to say whether the operation against Baghdadi was successful. Newsweek said the operation took place in Syria's northwestern Idlib province and was carried out by special operations forces after receiving actionable intelligence.

The official did not disclose details of the operation and other US&nbsp;officials contacted by Reuters declined to comment. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

White House spokesman Hogan Gidley announced late on Saturday that Trump would make a "major statement" at 1300 GMT (1830 IST)&nbsp;on Sunday.

Gidley gave no further details.

The president gave an indication that something was afoot earlier on Saturday night when he tweeted without explanation, "Something very big has just happened!"

Trump has been frustrated by the US&nbsp;news media's heavy focus on the Democratic-led impeachment enquiry, which he calls an illegitimate witch hunt.

He has also faced withering criticism from both Republicans and Democrats alike for his US&nbsp;troop withdrawal from northeastern Syria, which permitted Turkey to attack America's Kurdish allies.

Trump was expected to make the statement in the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/north-korea-warns-united-states-not-to-exploit-close-trump-kim-ties-258322">White House</a> Diplomatic Reception Room, which he has used to make a number of major announcements.

Just last week he used the same room to announce that a ceasefire between Turkey and the Kurds had taken hold.

The United States military conducted an operation against elusive Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Saturday, a US official said, as US President Donald Trump prepared to make a "major statement" at the White House on Sunday morning.

The United States military conducted an operation against elusive Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Saturday, a US official said, as US President Donald Trump prepared to make a "major statement" at the White House on Sunday morning. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, was unable to say whether the operation against Baghdadi was successful. Newsweek said the operation took place in Syria's northwestern Idlib province and was carried out by special operations forces after receiving actionable intelligence. The official did not disclose details of the operation and other US officials contacted by Reuters declined to comment. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. White House spokesman Hogan Gidley announced late on Saturday that Trump would make a "major statement" at 1300 GMT (1830 IST) on Sunday. Gidley gave no further details. The president gave an indication that something was afoot earlier on Saturday night when he tweeted without explanation, "Something very big has just happened!" Trump has been frustrated by the US news media's heavy focus on the Democratic-led impeachment enquiry, which he calls an illegitimate witch hunt. He has also faced withering criticism from both Republicans and Democrats alike for his US troop withdrawal from northeastern Syria, which permitted Turkey to attack America's Kurdish allies. Trump was expected to make the statement in the White House Diplomatic Reception Room, which he has used to make a number of major announcements. Just last week he used the same room to announce that a ceasefire between Turkey and the Kurds had taken hold.

Islamic State leader targeted by United States forces as Trump plans Sunday statement

By Greg Barton

“Remaining and expanding”. The propaganda tagline of Islamic State (IS) has rung hollow since the collapse of the physical caliphate. But recent developments in northeastern Syria threaten to give it fresh legitimacy.

US President Donald Trump lifted sanctions on Turkey after he announced the Turkish government agreed to a permanent ceasefire in northern Syria.

In a televised speech, he pushed back against criticisms of his decision to remove 1,000 troops from Syria, abandoning their Kurdish allies.

This decision allowed Turkish forces – a hybrid of Turkish military and Free Syrian Army rebels, including jihadi extremists – to surge across the Turkish border and begin intense bombardment of towns and cities liberated from IS.

Just how quickly and how far IS will rise from now remains unclear. One thing that’s certain, however, is that IS and the al-Qaeda movement that spawned it, plan and act for the long-term. They believe in their divine destiny and are prepared to sacrifice anything to achieve it.

In speaking about the resurgence of IS, we risk talking up the IS brand, the very thing it cares so very much about. But the greater risk is underestimating the capacity for reinvention, resilience and enduring appeal of IS.

And complacency and short-sighted politics threaten to lead us to repeat the mistakes of a decade ago that saw a decimated Islamic State in Iraq (ISI) insurgency roar back to life.

From violent beginnings

In 2006, Sunni tribes in northwestern Iraq killed or arrested the majority of ISI fighters with US support, reducing their strength from many thousands to a few hundred.

But with no backing for the Sunni tribes from the poorly functioning, Shia-dominated government in Baghdad, the outbreak of civil war in Syria, and the draw-down of US troops, ISI launched an insurgency in Syria before rising triumphant as Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

ISIS quickly became the most potent terrorist group in history, drawing more than 40,000 fighters from around the world, and seizing control of northeastern Syria and northwestern Iraq.

The final defeat of the IS caliphate in northeastern Syria came after five hard years of fighting and 11,000 lives from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), largely composed of members of the Kurdish YPG.

To the US, the SDF fighters were local partners and boots-on-the-ground after multiple false starts and expensive mistakes from allying with rebel groups in the Free Syrian Army. Without this SDF alliance, the IS caliphate could not be toppled.

Trump’s betrayal could open up ISIS recruitment

Donald Trump’s betrayal of the SDF in recent weeks is disastrous on several levels. It ignores the threat IS represents and validates ISIS’s central narrative.

What’s more, it contributes to the very circumstances of neglect, cynical short-term thinking and governance failures that lead to giving the IS insurgency an open pathway for recruiting.

Trump’s reckless move to withdraw 1,000 special forces troops from Syria comes from an impatience to end an 18-year long “Global War on Terrorism” military campaign of unprecedented expense.

This is somewhat understandable. After almost $6 trillion of US Federal expenditure and two decades of fighting, surely enough is enough.

But the inconvenient truth is IS and al-Qaeda jihadi fighters around the world have increased, in some estimates nearly four-fold, since September 11.

Still, betraying the SDF and pulling out of Syria for small short-term savings risks jeopardising all that has been achieved in defeating the IS caliphate in northwestern Iraq.

IS hardliners in overcrowded camps

IS will never return to its days of power as a physical caliphate, but all the evidence points to it tipping past an inflection point and beginning a long, steady resurgence.

IS has thousands of terrorist fighters still active in the field in northern Iraq. They’re attacking by night and rebuilding strength from disgruntled Sunni communities, as well as having thousands of fighters lying low in Syria.

But in recent months, the tempo of IS attacks has shifted from Iraq to Syria with the previously hidden insurgency reemerging.

As many as 12,000 terrorist fighters, including 2,000 foreigners, are detained in prisons run, at least until this week, by the SDF. Many are located in the border region now being overrun by the Turkish military and the Syrian jihadi it counts as loyal instruments.

Elsewhere, in poorly secured overcrowded camps for internally displaced peoples (IDPs), tens of thousands of women, many fiercely loyal to IS, and children are held in precarious circumstances.

In the Al Hawl camp alone there are more than 60,000 women and children linked to IS, including 11 Australian women and their 44 children, along with 10,000 IDPs.

The IS hardliners not only enforce a reign of terror within the camps, but are in regular communication with IS insurgents. They confidently await their liberation by the IS insurgent forces.

Liberated ISIS fighters

The hope of being freed is neither naive nor remote. Already, hundreds of fighters and IDPs have escaped the prisons and camps since the Turkish offensive began.

From mid-2012 until mid-2013, IS ran an insurgent campaign called “Breaking the Walls”. It saw thousands of hardened senior ISIS leaders, and many other militants who would later join the movement, broken out of half a dozen prisons surrounding Baghdad.

Suicide squads were used to blast holes in prison walls. Heavily armed assault teams moved rapidly through the prisons, blasting open cells and rushing the hundreds of liberated terrorist fighters into tactical four-wheel-drives. They were to be driven away in the desert through the night to rebuild the senior ranks of ISIS.

The liberated fighters were not only more valuable to ISIS after their time in prison, with many switching allegiances to join the movement, they were better educated and more deeply radicalised graduating for what they refer to as their terrorist universities.

It would appear the same cycle is now being repeated in northeastern Syria.

(Greg Barton is Chair in Global Islamic Politics, Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University)

(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/us-retreat-from-syria-could-see-islamic-state-roar-back-to-life-125311">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) &nbsp; 
&nbsp;

By Greg Barton “Remaining and expanding”. The propaganda tagline of Islamic State (IS) has rung hollow since the collapse of the physical caliphate. But recent developments in northeastern Syria threaten to give it fresh legitimacy.

By Greg Barton “Remaining and expanding”. The propaganda tagline of Islamic State (IS) has rung hollow since the collapse of the physical caliphate. But recent developments in northeastern Syria threaten to give it fresh legitimacy. US President Donald Trump lifted sanctions on Turkey after he announced the Turkish government agreed to a permanent ceasefire in northern Syria. In a televised speech, he pushed back against criticisms of his decision to remove 1,000 troops from Syria, abandoning their Kurdish allies. This decision allowed Turkish forces – a hybrid of Turkish military and Free Syrian Army rebels, including jihadi extremists – to surge across the Turkish border and begin intense bombardment of towns and cities liberated from IS. Just how quickly and how far IS will rise from now remains unclear. One thing that’s certain, however, is that IS and the al-Qaeda movement that spawned it, plan and act for the long-term. They believe in their divine destiny and are prepared to sacrifice anything to achieve it. In speaking about the resurgence of IS, we risk talking up the IS brand, the very thing it cares so very much about. But the greater risk is underestimating the capacity for reinvention, resilience and enduring appeal of IS. And complacency and short-sighted politics threaten to lead us to repeat the mistakes of a decade ago that saw a decimated Islamic State in Iraq (ISI) insurgency roar back to life. From violent beginnings In 2006, Sunni tribes in northwestern Iraq killed or arrested the majority of ISI fighters with US support, reducing their strength from many thousands to a few hundred. But with no backing for the Sunni tribes from the poorly functioning, Shia-dominated government in Baghdad, the outbreak of civil war in Syria, and the draw-down of US troops, ISI launched an insurgency in Syria before rising triumphant as Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). ISIS quickly became the most potent terrorist group in history, drawing more than 40,000 fighters from around the world, and seizing control of northeastern Syria and northwestern Iraq. The final defeat of the IS caliphate in northeastern Syria came after five hard years of fighting and 11,000 lives from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), largely composed of members of the Kurdish YPG. To the US, the SDF fighters were local partners and boots-on-the-ground after multiple false starts and expensive mistakes from allying with rebel groups in the Free Syrian Army. Without this SDF alliance, the IS caliphate could not be toppled. Trump’s betrayal could open up ISIS recruitment Donald Trump’s betrayal of the SDF in recent weeks is disastrous on several levels. It ignores the threat IS represents and validates ISIS’s central narrative. What’s more, it contributes to the very circumstances of neglect, cynical short-term thinking and governance failures that lead to giving the IS insurgency an open pathway for recruiting. Trump’s reckless move to withdraw 1,000 special forces troops from Syria comes from an impatience to end an 18-year long “Global War on Terrorism” military campaign of unprecedented expense. This is somewhat understandable. After almost $6 trillion of US Federal expenditure and two decades of fighting, surely enough is enough. But the inconvenient truth is IS and al-Qaeda jihadi fighters around the world have increased, in some estimates nearly four-fold, since September 11. Still, betraying the SDF and pulling out of Syria for small short-term savings risks jeopardising all that has been achieved in defeating the IS caliphate in northwestern Iraq. IS hardliners in overcrowded camps IS will never return to its days of power as a physical caliphate, but all the evidence points to it tipping past an inflection point and beginning a long, steady resurgence. IS has thousands of terrorist fighters still active in the field in northern Iraq. They’re attacking by night and rebuilding strength from disgruntled Sunni communities, as well as having thousands of fighters lying low in Syria. But in recent months, the tempo of IS attacks has shifted from Iraq to Syria with the previously hidden insurgency reemerging. As many as 12,000 terrorist fighters, including 2,000 foreigners, are detained in prisons run, at least until this week, by the SDF. Many are located in the border region now being overrun by the Turkish military and the Syrian jihadi it counts as loyal instruments. Elsewhere, in poorly secured overcrowded camps for internally displaced peoples (IDPs), tens of thousands of women, many fiercely loyal to IS, and children are held in precarious circumstances. In the Al Hawl camp alone there are more than 60,000 women and children linked to IS, including 11 Australian women and their 44 children, along with 10,000 IDPs. The IS hardliners not only enforce a reign of terror within the camps, but are in regular communication with IS insurgents. They confidently await their liberation by the IS insurgent forces. Liberated ISIS fighters The hope of being freed is neither naive nor remote. Already, hundreds of fighters and IDPs have escaped the prisons and camps since the Turkish offensive began. From mid-2012 until mid-2013, IS ran an insurgent campaign called “Breaking the Walls”. It saw thousands of hardened senior ISIS leaders, and many other militants who would later join the movement, broken out of half a dozen prisons surrounding Baghdad. Suicide squads were used to blast holes in prison walls. Heavily armed assault teams moved rapidly through the prisons, blasting open cells and rushing the hundreds of liberated terrorist fighters into tactical four-wheel-drives. They were to be driven away in the desert through the night to rebuild the senior ranks of ISIS. The liberated fighters were not only more valuable to ISIS after their time in prison, with many switching allegiances to join the movement, they were better educated and more deeply radicalised graduating for what they refer to as their terrorist universities. It would appear the same cycle is now being repeated in northeastern Syria. (Greg Barton is Chair in Global Islamic Politics, Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University) (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

US retreat from Syria could see Islamic State roar back to life

More than 100 prisoners of the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/we-have-taken-most-dangerous-isis-fighters-in-syria-trump-254848">Islamic State</a> extremist movement have escaped in Syria in the chaos since <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/key-developments-in-turkeys-offensive-in-syria-256638">Turkey's incursion</a>, a senior US official said Wednesday.

"We would say the number is now over 100. We do not know where they are," James Jeffrey, the State Department pointman on Syria, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee when asked about the detainees.

Turkey launched a military operation in Syria after President Donald Trump agreed to pull US troops who were allied with the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish-led group that bore the brunt of the fight against the Islamic State group.

Jeffrey said that the Kurdish fighters were still guarding prisoners from the extremist group, despite their warnings that they will need to devote resources to fight Turkey instead.

"Almost all of the prisons that the SDF were guarding are still secured. The SDF still has people there," Jeffrey said.

"We are monitoring that as best we can. We still have people in Syria working with the SDF and one of those priorities is these prisons," he said.

The Kurdish fighters have pulled out of a key border area as part of a US-brokered agreement with Turkey to end the offensive.

Turkey links the Syrian Kurdish fighters to PKK separatists at home, who are considered a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.

 
&nbsp;

More than 100 prisoners of the Islamic State extremist movement have escaped in Syria in the chaos since Turkey's incursion, a senior US official said Wednesday.

More than 100 prisoners of the Islamic State extremist movement have escaped in Syria in the chaos since Turkey's incursion, a senior US official said Wednesday. "We would say the number is now over 100. We do not know where they are," James Jeffrey, the State Department pointman on Syria, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee when asked about the detainees. Turkey launched a military operation in Syria after President Donald Trump agreed to pull US troops who were allied with the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish-led group that bore the brunt of the fight against the Islamic State group. Jeffrey said that the Kurdish fighters were still guarding prisoners from the extremist group, despite their warnings that they will need to devote resources to fight Turkey instead. "Almost all of the prisons that the SDF were guarding are still secured. The SDF still has people there," Jeffrey said. "We are monitoring that as best we can. We still have people in Syria working with the SDF and one of those priorities is these prisons," he said. The Kurdish fighters have pulled out of a key border area as part of a US-brokered agreement with Turkey to end the offensive. Turkey links the Syrian Kurdish fighters to PKK separatists at home, who are considered a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.

More than 100 Islamic State prisoners have escaped in Syria: US envoy

Turkey’s ambassador to China, Emin Onen, didn’t mince his words this week when he took his Chinese hosts to task for failing to support Turkey’s military campaign against a Kurdish militia in Syria.

Speaking in Turkish through a translator at a news conference at his Beijing embassy, Onen implicitly put China on the spot by calling on it to stand with Turkey in its fight against political violence.

In doing so, Onen was laying bare long-standing strains in Turkish-Chinese relations as well as contradictions that link Turkey’s long-standing refusal to fully recognise Kurdish rights to China’s brutal crackdown in its troubled, north-western province of Xinjiang.

Chinese officials have long sought to prevent Turkey from speaking out on the crackdown by privately arguing in discussions with their Turkish counterparts that China’s massive effort to fundamentally alter the belief system of Turkic Muslims, packaged as a fight against political violence, was no different from Turkish attitudes towards the Kurds.

Turkey has justified its decades-old policy in predominantly Kurdish southeastern Turkey and its more recent interventions in Syria as a struggle against the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) that has been designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, and its Syrian affiliate, the People's Protection Units (YPG).

The PKK has waged an insurgency in south-eastern Turkey for more than three decades. Tens of thousands have been killed in PKK attacks and Turkish military operations.

The YPG, which has not been designated by either the US or the EU, served in recent years as the United States’ ground troops in the battle to defeat the Islamic State’s Syria-based Caliphate.

“What we hope for is that China, whether internally or externally, is an anti-terrorist nation. They are a member of the (United Nations) Security Council, so they should understand our present situation,” Onen said.

“Certainly, we know that China is a country that is fighting against terror ... We are also fighting against ... (political violence) and it’s one of the most important issues,” Onen went on to say.

Onen was responding to what amounted to a Chinese condemnation of the Turkish incursion into Syria when Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, urged “Turkey to halt military action and to return to the right track, resolving the issue with political solutions.”

China had earlier called on Turkey to “exercise restraint,” insisting that Syria’s “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity must be respected and upheld.”

The stakes for both Turkey and China are high.

Both are likely hoping that Russian execution of an enhanced ceasefire initially negotiated by US Vice president Mike Pence on a visit to Ankara last week will enable them to avoid a further deterioration in relations. Russia took ownership of the Syrian process during talks on Tuesday between presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey, home to the largest Chinese Turkic Muslim exile community, and long a supporter of political and cultural rights for Uighurs, has on occasion breached the Muslim’s world’s wall of silence about the Chinese crackdown.

If Turkey, one of the Islamic world’s most powerful nations that compete with Saudi Arabia and Iran for leadership, were to revert to sustained criticism of the Chinese crackdown, it would make it more difficult for other Muslim states to maintain their silence or, in some cases, endorsement of Chinese policy.

It would ironically align Turkey with the United States, which last week imposed sanctions in a bid to force Turkey to halt its Syrian military campaign. The US, unlike the Muslim world, has been vocal in its condemnation of the Chinese crackdown in Xinjiang.

Taking China to task on Xinjiang is risky business, certainly for a country that has seen its economy falter. Turkey has been counting on China to help it resolve its economic problems.

China, transferred in June on the eve of Turkish elections, $1 billion to Turkey as part of a Turkish lira-Chinese yuan currency swap. China, which sees Turkey as a key node in its Belt and Road initiative, has further pledged $3.6 billion in funding for energy and telecommunications infrastructure projects.

Deng Li, China’s ambassador to Turkey, warned in March that public Turkish criticism of China’s Xinjiang policy “will negatively affect mutual trust and understanding and will be reflected in commercial and economic relations.”

Li issued his threat after Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his ministry spokesman, Hami Aksoy, in a rare expression of anti-Chinese sentiment used harsh language to condemn events in Xinjiang where some one million Turkic Muslims are believed to have been incarcerated in re-education camps and/or pushed into force labour.

Calling the crackdown an “embarrassment to humanity,” Aksoy demanded that Chinese authorities respect human rights of the Uighurs and close what he termed “concentration camps.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Turkey two months later to support China’s policy in Xinjiang in a bid to “safeguard the overall situation of the strategic cooperation between the two countries.”

The strains in Turkish-Chinese relations were put on public display in July when China’s state news agency Xinhua quoted visiting Erdogan as saying that people in Xinjiang “live happily.”

Turkish officials insisted that Erdogan had expressed the hope that people in China would “live happily in peace and prosperity,” not that they were living happily.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswomen Hua Chunying, clearly believing that this time around it would be Turkey rather than China that blinks first, insisted on Tuesday, “We called on Turkey many times to stop its military action. We hope all sides will form a synergy to combat terrorism, advance the political settlement process of the Syrian issue, and jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the region.”

It’s a synergy built on sand as long as Turkey and China cloak their refusal to come to grips with minority rights in counterterrorism terms that are opportunistically called into question whenever they contradict their geopolitical ambitions. 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) &nbsp;

Turkey’s ambassador to China, Emin Onen, didn’t mince his words this week when he took his Chinese hosts to task for failing to support Turkey’s military campaign against a Kurdish militia in Syria.

Turkey’s ambassador to China, Emin Onen, didn’t mince his words this week when he took his Chinese hosts to task for failing to support Turkey’s military campaign against a Kurdish militia in Syria. Speaking in Turkish through a translator at a news conference at his Beijing embassy, Onen implicitly put China on the spot by calling on it to stand with Turkey in its fight against political violence. In doing so, Onen was laying bare long-standing strains in Turkish-Chinese relations as well as contradictions that link Turkey’s long-standing refusal to fully recognise Kurdish rights to China’s brutal crackdown in its troubled, north-western province of Xinjiang. Chinese officials have long sought to prevent Turkey from speaking out on the crackdown by privately arguing in discussions with their Turkish counterparts that China’s massive effort to fundamentally alter the belief system of Turkic Muslims, packaged as a fight against political violence, was no different from Turkish attitudes towards the Kurds. Turkey has justified its decades-old policy in predominantly Kurdish southeastern Turkey and its more recent interventions in Syria as a struggle against the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) that has been designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, and its Syrian affiliate, the People's Protection Units (YPG). The PKK has waged an insurgency in south-eastern Turkey for more than three decades. Tens of thousands have been killed in PKK attacks and Turkish military operations. The YPG, which has not been designated by either the US or the EU, served in recent years as the United States’ ground troops in the battle to defeat the Islamic State’s Syria-based Caliphate. “What we hope for is that China, whether internally or externally, is an anti-terrorist nation. They are a member of the (United Nations) Security Council, so they should understand our present situation,” Onen said. “Certainly, we know that China is a country that is fighting against terror ... We are also fighting against ... (political violence) and it’s one of the most important issues,” Onen went on to say. Onen was responding to what amounted to a Chinese condemnation of the Turkish incursion into Syria when Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, urged “Turkey to halt military action and to return to the right track, resolving the issue with political solutions.” China had earlier called on Turkey to “exercise restraint,” insisting that Syria’s “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity must be respected and upheld.” The stakes for both Turkey and China are high. Both are likely hoping that Russian execution of an enhanced ceasefire initially negotiated by US Vice president Mike Pence on a visit to Ankara last week will enable them to avoid a further deterioration in relations. Russia took ownership of the Syrian process during talks on Tuesday between presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey, home to the largest Chinese Turkic Muslim exile community, and long a supporter of political and cultural rights for Uighurs, has on occasion breached the Muslim’s world’s wall of silence about the Chinese crackdown. If Turkey, one of the Islamic world’s most powerful nations that compete with Saudi Arabia and Iran for leadership, were to revert to sustained criticism of the Chinese crackdown, it would make it more difficult for other Muslim states to maintain their silence or, in some cases, endorsement of Chinese policy. It would ironically align Turkey with the United States, which last week imposed sanctions in a bid to force Turkey to halt its Syrian military campaign. The US, unlike the Muslim world, has been vocal in its condemnation of the Chinese crackdown in Xinjiang. Taking China to task on Xinjiang is risky business, certainly for a country that has seen its economy falter. Turkey has been counting on China to help it resolve its economic problems. China, transferred in June on the eve of Turkish elections, $1 billion to Turkey as part of a Turkish lira-Chinese yuan currency swap. China, which sees Turkey as a key node in its Belt and Road initiative, has further pledged $3.6 billion in funding for energy and telecommunications infrastructure projects. Deng Li, China’s ambassador to Turkey, warned in March that public Turkish criticism of China’s Xinjiang policy “will negatively affect mutual trust and understanding and will be reflected in commercial and economic relations.” Li issued his threat after Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his ministry spokesman, Hami Aksoy, in a rare expression of anti-Chinese sentiment used harsh language to condemn events in Xinjiang where some one million Turkic Muslims are believed to have been incarcerated in re-education camps and/or pushed into force labour. Calling the crackdown an “embarrassment to humanity,” Aksoy demanded that Chinese authorities respect human rights of the Uighurs and close what he termed “concentration camps.” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Turkey two months later to support China’s policy in Xinjiang in a bid to “safeguard the overall situation of the strategic cooperation between the two countries.” The strains in Turkish-Chinese relations were put on public display in July when China’s state news agency Xinhua quoted visiting Erdogan as saying that people in Xinjiang “live happily.” Turkish officials insisted that Erdogan had expressed the hope that people in China would “live happily in peace and prosperity,” not that they were living happily. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswomen Hua Chunying, clearly believing that this time around it would be Turkey rather than China that blinks first, insisted on Tuesday, “We called on Turkey many times to stop its military action. We hope all sides will form a synergy to combat terrorism, advance the political settlement process of the Syrian issue, and jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the region.” It’s a synergy built on sand as long as Turkey and China cloak their refusal to come to grips with minority rights in counterterrorism terms that are opportunistically called into question whenever they contradict their geopolitical ambitions. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Turkey and China tie themselves in knots over Syria and Xinjiang

Social media app TikTok has taken down accounts that were posting propaganda videos for the Islamic State group, a company employee said Tuesday, in the latest scandal to hit the popular platform.

TikTok, which is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, claimed some 500 million users globally last year, making it one of the most popular social apps.

An employee at TikTok told AFP that about ten&nbsp;accounts were removed for posting the videos.&nbsp;

"Only one of those videos even had views that reached into double digits before being taken down," said the staffer, who declined to be named.

The videos featured corpses being paraded through streets and Islamic State fighters with guns, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story on Monday.

The Journal said the posts were from about two dozen accounts, which were identified by social media intelligence company Storyful.

"Content promoting terrorist organizations have absolutely no place on TikTok," the company said in a statement emailed to AFP.

"We permanently ban any such accounts and associated devices as soon as identified, and we continuously develop ever-stronger controls to proactively detect suspicious activity," it said.

The Islamic State's self-declared "caliphate" in Iraq and Syria fell in March, but the group remains active in several countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, as well as still inspiring jihadists through an online presence.

The TikTok platform, which allows users to create and share videos of 15 seconds, is particularly popular with teenagers.

"Unlike other platforms, which are centred around users' friends or communities, TikTok is based on engaging with a never-ending stream of new content," said Darren Davidson, the editor-in-chief of Storyful.&nbsp;

"The ISIS postings violate TikTok's policies, but the sheer volume of content makes it difficult for TikTok to police their platform and root out these videos," he said.

The app has been marred by controversy in recent months.

In April, TikTok was briefly banned by an Indian court over claims it was promoting pornography among children.

The app is banned in neighbouring Bangladesh and was hit with an enormous fine in the United States for illegally collecting information from children.

The company has refuted the allegations, saying they abide by local privacy laws.

ByteDance has a version of TikTok in China called Douyin.

Social media app TikTok has taken down accounts that were posting propaganda videos for the Islamic State group, a company employee said Tuesday, in the latest scandal to hit the popular platform.

Social media app TikTok has taken down accounts that were posting propaganda videos for the Islamic State group, a company employee said Tuesday, in the latest scandal to hit the popular platform. TikTok, which is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, claimed some 500 million users globally last year, making it one of the most popular social apps. An employee at TikTok told AFP that about ten accounts were removed for posting the videos. "Only one of those videos even had views that reached into double digits before being taken down," said the staffer, who declined to be named. The videos featured corpses being paraded through streets and Islamic State fighters with guns, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story on Monday. The Journal said the posts were from about two dozen accounts, which were identified by social media intelligence company Storyful. "Content promoting terrorist organizations have absolutely no place on TikTok," the company said in a statement emailed to AFP. "We permanently ban any such accounts and associated devices as soon as identified, and we continuously develop ever-stronger controls to proactively detect suspicious activity," it said. The Islamic State's self-declared "caliphate" in Iraq and Syria fell in March, but the group remains active in several countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, as well as still inspiring jihadists through an online presence. The TikTok platform, which allows users to create and share videos of 15 seconds, is particularly popular with teenagers. "Unlike other platforms, which are centred around users' friends or communities, TikTok is based on engaging with a never-ending stream of new content," said Darren Davidson, the editor-in-chief of Storyful. "The ISIS postings violate TikTok's policies, but the sheer volume of content makes it difficult for TikTok to police their platform and root out these videos," he said. The app has been marred by controversy in recent months. In April, TikTok was briefly banned by an Indian court over claims it was promoting pornography among children. The app is banned in neighbouring Bangladesh and was hit with an enormous fine in the United States for illegally collecting information from children. The company has refuted the allegations, saying they abide by local privacy laws. ByteDance has a version of TikTok in China called Douyin.

Social media app TikTok removes Islamic State propaganda videos

United States President Donald Trump is in favour of keeping a small contingent of US troops in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/kurdish-fighters-leave-besieged-syria-town-257126">eastern Syria</a> to fight the Islamic State terror group,&nbsp;US media reported, citing a senior US official. 
 
According to The New York Times newspaper, if this time Trump decides to leave several hundred military personnel in eastern Syria, this would be the second case since the beginning of the year when he cancels his own order to withdraw practically all US troops from Syria. 
 
The media outlet's source said that since last week the US president has been thinking about leaving about 200 commandos in northeastern Syria to fight terrorism. It added that US troops were likely to be located along the border with Iraq, outside the safe zone, agreed by US Vice President Mike Pence and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 
 
According to the newspaper, in addition to the main goal, to prevent the rise of the Islamic State in Syria or neighbouring Iraq, it is important for the United States to assist the Kurds in maintaining control of oil fields in the east. 
 
Three representatives of the presidential administration and the Department of Defense confirmed that senior US politicians and commanders discussed such a plan. Trump, according to The New York Times, is now hesitating between two decisions, either to achieve the ultimate goal and return the US military from Syria home and end the war or to make sure that the containment and weakening of the IS continues. According to some officials, Trump may say that the deployment of the small contingent is a reasonable way to ensure security in the region and in the United States, without breaking his promise. 
 
Commenting on the possibility of leaving a small number of military personnel in eastern Syria, the White House said that this was not a change of policy, because the main purpose of the withdrawal was to protect the people. 
 
Trump said on October 7 that the US began to <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-states-officials-optimistic-about-syria-ceasefire-holding-257122">withdraw its troops from northeastern Syria</a>. The head of the Pentagon, Mark Esper, said on October 13 that Washington would withdraw another 1,000 troops from Syria. 
 
On October 9, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the launch of Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria. The offensive is part of Ankara's goal to clear its Syria-facing border area of terrorists and Kurdish militia, which for Ankara are interchangeable, and create a safe zone where Turkey could relocate part of some 3.6 million Syrian refugees it currently hosts. Operation Peace Spring is currently on hold for 120 hours as per the agreement between Ankara and Washington.

United States President Donald Trump is in favour of keeping a small contingent of US troops in eastern Syria to fight the Islamic State terror group, US media reported, citing a senior US official.

United States President Donald Trump is in favour of keeping a small contingent of US troops in eastern Syria to fight the Islamic State terror group, US media reported, citing a senior US official. According to The New York Times newspaper, if this time Trump decides to leave several hundred military personnel in eastern Syria, this would be the second case since the beginning of the year when he cancels his own order to withdraw practically all US troops from Syria. The media outlet's source said that since last week the US president has been thinking about leaving about 200 commandos in northeastern Syria to fight terrorism. It added that US troops were likely to be located along the border with Iraq, outside the safe zone, agreed by US Vice President Mike Pence and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to the newspaper, in addition to the main goal, to prevent the rise of the Islamic State in Syria or neighbouring Iraq, it is important for the United States to assist the Kurds in maintaining control of oil fields in the east. Three representatives of the presidential administration and the Department of Defense confirmed that senior US politicians and commanders discussed such a plan. Trump, according to The New York Times, is now hesitating between two decisions, either to achieve the ultimate goal and return the US military from Syria home and end the war or to make sure that the containment and weakening of the IS continues. According to some officials, Trump may say that the deployment of the small contingent is a reasonable way to ensure security in the region and in the United States, without breaking his promise. Commenting on the possibility of leaving a small number of military personnel in eastern Syria, the White House said that this was not a change of policy, because the main purpose of the withdrawal was to protect the people. Trump said on October 7 that the US began to withdraw its troops from northeastern Syria. The head of the Pentagon, Mark Esper, said on October 13 that Washington would withdraw another 1,000 troops from Syria. On October 9, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the launch of Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria. The offensive is part of Ankara's goal to clear its Syria-facing border area of terrorists and Kurdish militia, which for Ankara are interchangeable, and create a safe zone where Turkey could relocate part of some 3.6 million Syrian refugees it currently hosts. Operation Peace Spring is currently on hold for 120 hours as per the agreement between Ankara and Washington.

Trump leaning toward leaving 200 United States Special Forces in Eastern Syria: Reports

By Recep Onursal

The ramifications of Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from the Turkish-Syrian border continues to have a seismic effect on the situation in northern Syria.

Faced with the Turkish invasion of northern Syria, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who controlled the area were forced to make compromises. On October 13, they announced a deal with the Syrian army, which began moving troops towards the Turkish border. A five-day ceasefire was brokered by the US on October 18, during which Turkey agreed to pause its offensive to allow Kurdish forces to withdraw.

For many, the SDF proved itself to be the most effective force in the fight against Islamic State (IS). Turkey, however, considers the SDF as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which it, the US and EU label as a terrorist organisation.

But behind this lies a long history of Turkey denying the very existence of the Kurdish conflict, and the political and cultural rights of its Kurdish population. Understanding this history helps explain why the conflict is so intractable, and the impact it continues to have on Turkey’s foreign policy choices.

No room in the nation-state

The Kurdish conflict cannot be understood without considering the question of power and exclusion. Its origins go back to the mid-19th century when the Ottomans attempted to end the 300-year-old autonomy of the Kurdish principalities in Kurdistan. This struggle for autonomy wasn’t resolved during the rule of the Ottoman era, and when it collapsed, all of the new nation-states that eventually emerged – Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran – inherited their own Kurdish conflict.

The Turks and the Kurds fought a successful war of independence together in 1919 against the Allied forces. Nevertheless, when the new Republic of Turkey was established in 1923, Turkish identity was presented as its unifying force, at the expense of the society’s political, social and cultural differences.

Not only was political power further centralised in Ankara, but the domination of the ethnic, Turkish and Sunni majority became the norm. The decision to create a centralised and homogeneous nation-state was implemented in a top-down and violent fashion. The seeds of the long-term problems that Turkish and Kurdish communities confront today were created by this decision.

Various Kurdish groups challenged this new social and political order with different revolts, uprisings, and resistance, but these were violently suppressed. Repressive policies of assimilation were later implemented to transform the Kurds into civilised and secular Turks.

A conflict buried

The Kurdish conflict laid buried for many years. Then, the most serious challenge to Turkey’s nation-state project was initiated by the PKK in 1984, which embraced a political agenda called democratic autonomy. The violent struggle between Ankara and the PKK has resulted in a huge economic and human cost.

Peace talks which began in 2013 with the PKK’s jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan were widely considered to be the best chance for ending the conflict, but these collapsed in 2015. This led to increasing violence in the form of destructive armed conflict in southeastern Turkey and a wave of bombings, including in Ankara and Istanbul.

The resolution of intractable conflicts is only possible when conflicted parties can confront their past and learn from it. In 2015, amid attempts by Turkish opposition parties to reopen peace negotiations with the Kurds, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan insisted: “There is no Kurdish conflict”. Such positioning, which continues today, keeps the political dimension of the conflict in the background.

The state carefully controls what can and cannot be said about the conflict. Typically, words such as “terror” and “traitor” are used to criminalise those who criticise government policy towards the Kurds. A group of academics who signed a petition in 2016 calling for the resumption of peace talks were charged with making “terrorism propaganda”. The non-violent wing of the Kurdish movement – activists, politicians, political parties – has also been criminalised.

Blame game

Instead of confronting their failure to bring about peace, Turkish political elites have tried to apportion blame elsewhere. Erdoğan, for example, repeatedly refers to an invisible “mastermind” who orchestrates the PKK. Such rhetoric is deployed to play on the collective fear and anxiety about national security felt by parts of Turkish society.

Some have called this the “Sèvres syndrome” – referring to the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres that marked the end of the Ottoman empire and proposed to divide it into small states and occupation zones. The treaty was never implemented and superseded by the 1923 Lausanne Treaty which recognised the Republic of Turkey.

This syndrome – also referred to as “Sèvres Paranoia” – in essence reflects the collective fear that the Treaty of Sèvres will be revived and that the Turkish state is encircled by enemies who want to divide and weaken the country.

Today, this line of thinking is an integral part of Turkish political life and continues to influence public perception towards the external world. In a 2006 public opinion survey, for example, 78% of participants agreed that “the West wants to divide and break up Turkey like they broke up the Ottoman Empire”.

In this way, the Kurdish conflict has been used to mobilise Turkish society to act against its own collective interest: a peaceful and just society. Policies aimed at managing the conflict have been implemented mostly within a state of emergency, in ways that continue to undermine Turkish democracy. Not only has the tremendous economic and human cost of the conflict become a “normal” part of Turkish life, but the state has also been successful in actively keeping the political dimension of the conflict at bay.

For a long time, Turkey refrained from talking about the Kurdish issue by assuming that it would eventually fade away. But it didn’t and instead, the conflict has become more deeply entrenched. Time will tell whether the Turkish state will ultimately gain or lose by its latest military intervention in Syria. However, what’s clear is that the Kurdish conflict will get more complicated with this latest move, and both the Turkish state and Turkish society will no longer be able to ignore it.

 
(Recep Onursal is Assistant Lecturer and PhD candidate in International Conflict Analysis, University of Kent)

&nbsp;(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-kurdish-conflict-in-turkey-is-so-intractable-125101">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) &nbsp;

By Recep Onursal The ramifications of Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from the Turkish-Syrian border continues to have a seismic effect on the situation in northern Syria.

By Recep Onursal The ramifications of Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from the Turkish-Syrian border continues to have a seismic effect on the situation in northern Syria. Faced with the Turkish invasion of northern Syria, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who controlled the area were forced to make compromises. On October 13, they announced a deal with the Syrian army, which began moving troops towards the Turkish border. A five-day ceasefire was brokered by the US on October 18, during which Turkey agreed to pause its offensive to allow Kurdish forces to withdraw. For many, the SDF proved itself to be the most effective force in the fight against Islamic State (IS). Turkey, however, considers the SDF as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which it, the US and EU label as a terrorist organisation. But behind this lies a long history of Turkey denying the very existence of the Kurdish conflict, and the political and cultural rights of its Kurdish population. Understanding this history helps explain why the conflict is so intractable, and the impact it continues to have on Turkey’s foreign policy choices. No room in the nation-state The Kurdish conflict cannot be understood without considering the question of power and exclusion. Its origins go back to the mid-19th century when the Ottomans attempted to end the 300-year-old autonomy of the Kurdish principalities in Kurdistan. This struggle for autonomy wasn’t resolved during the rule of the Ottoman era, and when it collapsed, all of the new nation-states that eventually emerged – Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran – inherited their own Kurdish conflict. The Turks and the Kurds fought a successful war of independence together in 1919 against the Allied forces. Nevertheless, when the new Republic of Turkey was established in 1923, Turkish identity was presented as its unifying force, at the expense of the society’s political, social and cultural differences. Not only was political power further centralised in Ankara, but the domination of the ethnic, Turkish and Sunni majority became the norm. The decision to create a centralised and homogeneous nation-state was implemented in a top-down and violent fashion. The seeds of the long-term problems that Turkish and Kurdish communities confront today were created by this decision. Various Kurdish groups challenged this new social and political order with different revolts, uprisings, and resistance, but these were violently suppressed. Repressive policies of assimilation were later implemented to transform the Kurds into civilised and secular Turks. A conflict buried The Kurdish conflict laid buried for many years. Then, the most serious challenge to Turkey’s nation-state project was initiated by the PKK in 1984, which embraced a political agenda called democratic autonomy. The violent struggle between Ankara and the PKK has resulted in a huge economic and human cost. Peace talks which began in 2013 with the PKK’s jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan were widely considered to be the best chance for ending the conflict, but these collapsed in 2015. This led to increasing violence in the form of destructive armed conflict in southeastern Turkey and a wave of bombings, including in Ankara and Istanbul. The resolution of intractable conflicts is only possible when conflicted parties can confront their past and learn from it. In 2015, amid attempts by Turkish opposition parties to reopen peace negotiations with the Kurds, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan insisted: “There is no Kurdish conflict”. Such positioning, which continues today, keeps the political dimension of the conflict in the background. The state carefully controls what can and cannot be said about the conflict. Typically, words such as “terror” and “traitor” are used to criminalise those who criticise government policy towards the Kurds. A group of academics who signed a petition in 2016 calling for the resumption of peace talks were charged with making “terrorism propaganda”. The non-violent wing of the Kurdish movement – activists, politicians, political parties – has also been criminalised. Blame game Instead of confronting their failure to bring about peace, Turkish political elites have tried to apportion blame elsewhere. Erdoğan, for example, repeatedly refers to an invisible “mastermind” who orchestrates the PKK. Such rhetoric is deployed to play on the collective fear and anxiety about national security felt by parts of Turkish society. Some have called this the “Sèvres syndrome” – referring to the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres that marked the end of the Ottoman empire and proposed to divide it into small states and occupation zones. The treaty was never implemented and superseded by the 1923 Lausanne Treaty which recognised the Republic of Turkey. This syndrome – also referred to as “Sèvres Paranoia” – in essence reflects the collective fear that the Treaty of Sèvres will be revived and that the Turkish state is encircled by enemies who want to divide and weaken the country. Today, this line of thinking is an integral part of Turkish political life and continues to influence public perception towards the external world. In a 2006 public opinion survey, for example, 78% of participants agreed that “the West wants to divide and break up Turkey like they broke up the Ottoman Empire”. In this way, the Kurdish conflict has been used to mobilise Turkish society to act against its own collective interest: a peaceful and just society. Policies aimed at managing the conflict have been implemented mostly within a state of emergency, in ways that continue to undermine Turkish democracy. Not only has the tremendous economic and human cost of the conflict become a “normal” part of Turkish life, but the state has also been successful in actively keeping the political dimension of the conflict at bay. For a long time, Turkey refrained from talking about the Kurdish issue by assuming that it would eventually fade away. But it didn’t and instead, the conflict has become more deeply entrenched. Time will tell whether the Turkish state will ultimately gain or lose by its latest military intervention in Syria. However, what’s clear is that the Kurdish conflict will get more complicated with this latest move, and both the Turkish state and Turkish society will no longer be able to ignore it. (Recep Onursal is Assistant Lecturer and PhD candidate in International Conflict Analysis, University of Kent) (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Why the Kurdish conflict in Turkey is so intractable

The Afghan special forces have neutralised 16 Taliban and Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in operations conducted in three provinces of Afghanistan in the past 24 hours, officials said on Saturday.

According to Khamma Press, the Special Forces also arrested eight Taliban terrorists during the operations.

The forces launched separate operations in Nangarhar province, Wardak province and Kandahar province.

The cache of weapons was also destroyed during these offensives.

The largest number of terrorists were killed in Achin district of Nangarhar province.

The forces claimed to have killed 10 ISIS terrorists.

Meanwhile, in Wardak province, the Special Forces killed two Taliban terrorists, arrested six others in Jaghatu district.

Furthermore, Special Forces have killed four Taliban terrorists and arrested two others during an operation in Maiwand district.&nbsp;

The Afghan special forces have neutralised 16 Taliban and Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in operations conducted in three provinces of Afghanistan in the past 24 hours, officials said on Saturday.

The Afghan special forces have neutralised 16 Taliban and Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in operations conducted in three provinces of Afghanistan in the past 24 hours, officials said on Saturday. According to Khamma Press, the Special Forces also arrested eight Taliban terrorists during the operations. The forces launched separate operations in Nangarhar province, Wardak province and Kandahar province. The cache of weapons was also destroyed during these offensives. The largest number of terrorists were killed in Achin district of Nangarhar province. The forces claimed to have killed 10 ISIS terrorists. Meanwhile, in Wardak province, the Special Forces killed two Taliban terrorists, arrested six others in Jaghatu district. Furthermore, Special Forces have killed four Taliban terrorists and arrested two others during an operation in Maiwand district.

Afghan special forces killed 16 Taliban, IS terrorists in operations

Turkey agreed with the United States to suspend its deadly offensive in northern Syria, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promising to end the assault if Kurdish forces withdraw from a "safe zone" along the border.

From Ankara's point of view, this would allow Erdogan to kill two birds with one stone -- easing its refugee burden and pushing Kurdish militants away from Turkey's southern border.

Thursday's agreement on a 120-hour suspension came just over week after Ankara launched its cross-border operation against the Kurdish YPG militia on October 9.

Experts say Turkey still wants a "safe zone" on the same terms proposed before, while others argue it is difficult for Ankara to physically establish the area.

- What is the 'safe zone'? -

Before launching the operation, the Turkish government said it wanted a zone that would be 30 kilometres deep and run over 400 kilometres (300 miles) along northern Syria.

Erdogan has previously said this zone would then allow two to three million Syrian refugees to return to their country.&nbsp;

The issue has become a priority for the Turkish leader, who has faced a growing popular backlash over the presence of 3.6 million Syrian refugees in the country -- the highest number in the world.

The new zone would also be a buffer area against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), a Western-allied fighting force which has played a key role in the battle against the Islamic State group and other jihadists.

Ankara sees the YPG as a dangerous offshoot of what it considers Kurdish "terrorists" in Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) behind a decades-long insurgency against the state.

The "safe zone" was first publicly mooted earlier this year by President Donald Trump in a subsequently failed bid to stop Erdogan launching his operation.

US Vice President Mike Pence said after talks with Erdogan on Thursday that the YPG would withdraw "outside the 20-mile mark" but did not give further details.

- What has changed? -

James Jeffrey, the US special representative on Syria, said the status on the ground had now changed since Turkish forces entered Syria with their Syrian proxies.

"What we have now is a different situation where the Turks have pushed down to that 30 kilometre level in a central part of the northeast and they're still fighting in there," he said on board Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's plane on Thursday.

"The YPG elements in these areas that the Turks control will withdraw south of that area. That's basically the 30-kilometre area which is also the roads M4, M10," he said.

Turkish media have reported that Ankara aims to take control of a swathe of territory 120 kilometres (75 miles) long and 30 kilometres deep into Syria, up to the towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain.&nbsp;

Tal Abyad was captured last week by Turkey and its proxy forces but clashes continue in Ras al-Ain.

Turkey still wanted any final "safe zone" to be 444 kilometres long, Erdogan told reporters on Friday.

Hasan Unal, foreign policy analyst at Istanbul's Maltepe University, said the zone first proposed by Turkey remained Ankara's goal which includes the northern Syrian city of Manbij, the town of Kobane and the area up to the Iraq border to the east.

But this might prove difficult since Syrian regime forces have entered Manbij and Kobane after a deal with the Kurds, who sought protection from the Turkish assault.

Unal said it was likely the United States would "keep coming with different interpretations of the compromise", pointing to previous US-Turkey agreements in northern Syria.

In August, American and Turkish officials agreed to set up a buffer zone on the Turkey-Syria border but Ankara was unhappy with the lack of concrete developments.

However, Unal said future developments in Syria involving Turkey depended on the outcome of the meeting between Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin next Tuesday.

"What might happen with regards to Turkish action in northeast Syria, Turkish-Syrian relations, with regard to Turkish attitudes towards a new Syria seems to largely depend on that (meeting)," he said, adding that no "miracle" should be expected.

- Can it really be set up? -

According to Anthony Skinner, director at the risk assessment firm Verisk Maplecroft, too many unanswered questions remained over Ankara's ability to control the zone.

"Turkey has not been able to secure the funding it wants to be able to develop the infrastructure for this resettlement programme to succeed," he told AFP.

And, Skinner added, "it is unclear how a sufficiently robust non-Turkish force could be sustained on the ground in the longer term to keep the peace at a local level".

Syria expert Fabrice Balanche said last month that it would not be possible to send three million people to the proposed region because the liveable area was "limited". 
&nbsp;

Turkey agreed with the United States to suspend its deadly offensive in northern Syria, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promising to end the assault if Kurdish forces withdraw from a "safe zone" along the border.

Turkey agreed with the United States to suspend its deadly offensive in northern Syria, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promising to end the assault if Kurdish forces withdraw from a "safe zone" along the border. From Ankara's point of view, this would allow Erdogan to kill two birds with one stone -- easing its refugee burden and pushing Kurdish militants away from Turkey's southern border. Thursday's agreement on a 120-hour suspension came just over week after Ankara launched its cross-border operation against the Kurdish YPG militia on October 9. Experts say Turkey still wants a "safe zone" on the same terms proposed before, while others argue it is difficult for Ankara to physically establish the area. - What is the 'safe zone'? - Before launching the operation, the Turkish government said it wanted a zone that would be 30 kilometres deep and run over 400 kilometres (300 miles) along northern Syria. Erdogan has previously said this zone would then allow two to three million Syrian refugees to return to their country. The issue has become a priority for the Turkish leader, who has faced a growing popular backlash over the presence of 3.6 million Syrian refugees in the country -- the highest number in the world. The new zone would also be a buffer area against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), a Western-allied fighting force which has played a key role in the battle against the Islamic State group and other jihadists. Ankara sees the YPG as a dangerous offshoot of what it considers Kurdish "terrorists" in Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) behind a decades-long insurgency against the state. The "safe zone" was first publicly mooted earlier this year by President Donald Trump in a subsequently failed bid to stop Erdogan launching his operation. US Vice President Mike Pence said after talks with Erdogan on Thursday that the YPG would withdraw "outside the 20-mile mark" but did not give further details. - What has changed? - James Jeffrey, the US special representative on Syria, said the status on the ground had now changed since Turkish forces entered Syria with their Syrian proxies. "What we have now is a different situation where the Turks have pushed down to that 30 kilometre level in a central part of the northeast and they're still fighting in there," he said on board Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's plane on Thursday. "The YPG elements in these areas that the Turks control will withdraw south of that area. That's basically the 30-kilometre area which is also the roads M4, M10," he said. Turkish media have reported that Ankara aims to take control of a swathe of territory 120 kilometres (75 miles) long and 30 kilometres deep into Syria, up to the towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain. Tal Abyad was captured last week by Turkey and its proxy forces but clashes continue in Ras al-Ain. Turkey still wanted any final "safe zone" to be 444 kilometres long, Erdogan told reporters on Friday. Hasan Unal, foreign policy analyst at Istanbul's Maltepe University, said the zone first proposed by Turkey remained Ankara's goal which includes the northern Syrian city of Manbij, the town of Kobane and the area up to the Iraq border to the east. But this might prove difficult since Syrian regime forces have entered Manbij and Kobane after a deal with the Kurds, who sought protection from the Turkish assault. Unal said it was likely the United States would "keep coming with different interpretations of the compromise", pointing to previous US-Turkey agreements in northern Syria. In August, American and Turkish officials agreed to set up a buffer zone on the Turkey-Syria border but Ankara was unhappy with the lack of concrete developments. However, Unal said future developments in Syria involving Turkey depended on the outcome of the meeting between Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin next Tuesday. "What might happen with regards to Turkish action in northeast Syria, Turkish-Syrian relations, with regard to Turkish attitudes towards a new Syria seems to largely depend on that (meeting)," he said, adding that no "miracle" should be expected. - Can it really be set up? - According to Anthony Skinner, director at the risk assessment firm Verisk Maplecroft, too many unanswered questions remained over Ankara's ability to control the zone. "Turkey has not been able to secure the funding it wants to be able to develop the infrastructure for this resettlement programme to succeed," he told AFP. And, Skinner added, "it is unclear how a sufficiently robust non-Turkish force could be sustained on the ground in the longer term to keep the peace at a local level". Syria expert Fabrice Balanche said last month that it would not be possible to send three million people to the proposed region because the liveable area was "limited".

What is the 'safe zone' Turkey wants in Syria?

The Islamic State group said Thursday it had "freed" women held by Syria's Kurds, the latest in a series of reported breakouts since Turkey launched a cross-border offensive last week.

In a statement released on the Telegram messaging application, IS said it had stormed a security headquarters west of its former stronghold of Raqa on Wednesday, "freeing Muslim women kidnapped" by Kurdish forces.

It did not give a number or say if the women were IS members or wives of jihadists.

Separately three former IS fighters originally from the Gaza Strip escaped a Kurdish detention centre near Tal Abyad close to the Syrian-Turkish border, a source in a political faction in Gaza said.

The three, two of whom were members of the military wing of Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas before joining the more militant IS, called their families Wednesday following their escape but said they did not intend to return home, the source said.

The prospect that thousands of the world's most fanatic jihadists could break out in the chaos caused by Turkey's invasion of northeastern Syria is causing widespread alarm.

European governments fear it could lead to a resurgence of the group that has wreaked havoc through attacks in the West and formerly controlled parts of Syria and Iraq.

According to the Kurds hundreds of IS relatives have already tried to escape since Ankara launched its offensive on October 9.

On Sunday, Kurdish authorities said nearly 800 relatives of foreign jihadists had escaped from a Kurdish-run displacement camp in the northern Syrian town of Ain Issa.&nbsp;

At least three French women who had left the camp have since joined up with IS, according to messages they sent to their lawyer, seen by AFP.

Five IS jihadists escaped from a prison near the northeastern city of Qamishli last week, according to Kurdish forces.

On Tuesday, a breakout attempt was foiled in the infamous Al-Hol camp, which is so overcrowded that wardens are struggling to control riot.

According to the Kurdish administration, there are around 12,000 suspected IS fighters in the custody of Kurdish security forces across prisons in northeastern Syria.

At least 2,500 of them are non-Iraqi foreigners of more than 50 different nationalities. Tunisia is thought to have the biggest contingent.

The detained fighters have thousands of relatives -- mostly women and children -- held in displacement camps.

Al-Hol alone holds 68,000 prisoners, mostly relatives of current or former IS members, according to the United Nations.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Wednesday they were suspending operations against IS.

"We have frozen all our actions against Daesh," SDF head Mazloum Abdi told Kurdish television channel Ronahi, using an Arabic acronym for the jihadists.

The SDF, which helped defeat IS with the support of the US-led coalition, said it would only carry out defensive operations. 
&nbsp;

The Islamic State group said Thursday it had "freed" women held by Syria's Kurds, the latest in a series of reported breakouts since Turkey launched a cross-border offensive last week.

The Islamic State group said Thursday it had "freed" women held by Syria's Kurds, the latest in a series of reported breakouts since Turkey launched a cross-border offensive last week. In a statement released on the Telegram messaging application, IS said it had stormed a security headquarters west of its former stronghold of Raqa on Wednesday, "freeing Muslim women kidnapped" by Kurdish forces. It did not give a number or say if the women were IS members or wives of jihadists. Separately three former IS fighters originally from the Gaza Strip escaped a Kurdish detention centre near Tal Abyad close to the Syrian-Turkish border, a source in a political faction in Gaza said. The three, two of whom were members of the military wing of Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas before joining the more militant IS, called their families Wednesday following their escape but said they did not intend to return home, the source said. The prospect that thousands of the world's most fanatic jihadists could break out in the chaos caused by Turkey's invasion of northeastern Syria is causing widespread alarm. European governments fear it could lead to a resurgence of the group that has wreaked havoc through attacks in the West and formerly controlled parts of Syria and Iraq. According to the Kurds hundreds of IS relatives have already tried to escape since Ankara launched its offensive on October 9. On Sunday, Kurdish authorities said nearly 800 relatives of foreign jihadists had escaped from a Kurdish-run displacement camp in the northern Syrian town of Ain Issa. At least three French women who had left the camp have since joined up with IS, according to messages they sent to their lawyer, seen by AFP. Five IS jihadists escaped from a prison near the northeastern city of Qamishli last week, according to Kurdish forces. On Tuesday, a breakout attempt was foiled in the infamous Al-Hol camp, which is so overcrowded that wardens are struggling to control riot. According to the Kurdish administration, there are around 12,000 suspected IS fighters in the custody of Kurdish security forces across prisons in northeastern Syria. At least 2,500 of them are non-Iraqi foreigners of more than 50 different nationalities. Tunisia is thought to have the biggest contingent. The detained fighters have thousands of relatives -- mostly women and children -- held in displacement camps. Al-Hol alone holds 68,000 prisoners, mostly relatives of current or former IS members, according to the United Nations. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Wednesday they were suspending operations against IS. "We have frozen all our actions against Daesh," SDF head Mazloum Abdi told Kurdish television channel Ronahi, using an Arabic acronym for the jihadists. The SDF, which helped defeat IS with the support of the US-led coalition, said it would only carry out defensive operations.

IS says 'freed' women held by Syrian Kurds

Turkey rebuffed international pressure to curb its <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/strategically-brilliant-trump-defends-syria-pullout-condemned-by-house-in-bipartisan-vote-256357">deadly offensive against Kurdish forces</a> in Syria on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump dispatched his deputy Mike Pence to Ankara to demand a ceasefire.

But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed that Turkey's operation -- which has been facilitated by the withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria -- would continue.

On another front, Kurdish forces struck a desperate deal with Damascus and stepped aside to allow Syrian regime troops and allied Russian soldiers enter the border town of Kobane on Wednesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Kobane is a highly symbolic town for Syria's Kurds, whose forces had in 2015 wrested the town from Islamic State (IS) group control in an epic battle backed by the US-led coalition.

Days after US troops abruptly began withdrawing, clashes continued across the region on Thursday, with Kurdish fighters in the border town of Ras al-Ain burning tyres in a bid to blind Ankara's warplanes and digging in against a ground offensive by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels.

Watch: China's game-plan in Syria

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The Turkish operation, now in its second week, has triggered a flurry of diplomacy among major powers.

Trump sent Pence along with his top diplomat Mike Pompeo to Turkey amid the greatest crisis in relations for decades between the NATO allies, with talks due in Ankara early Thursday.&nbsp;

Facing a barrage of criticism in Washington for abandoning the Kurds, Trump has slapped sanctions on three Turkish ministers and raised tariffs on its steel industry.

Pence's office said the US would pursue "punishing economic sanctions" unless there was "an immediate ceasefire".

"Don't be a fool," Trump warned Erdogan in an extraordinary letter sent the day Turkey launched its incursion into northeastern Syria -- warning history risked branding him a "devil."

In language shorn of diplomatic niceties Trump began the letter, dated October 9, with an outright threat.

"You don't want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don't want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy -- and I will." he wrote in the missive, whose authenticity was confirmed to AFP by the White House.

But Erdogan told the Turkish parliament that the only way to solve Syria's problems was for the Kurdish forces to "lay down their arms... destroy all their traps and get out of the safe zone that we have designated."

Trump says Kurds 'protected'

Trump again dismissed the idea that pulling out 1,000 troops -- practically the entire US contingent in the region -- had been a betrayal of Kurdish militants who bore the brunt of the fight against IS in recent years.&nbsp;

"The Kurds are very well protected," Trump told reporters at the White House. "By the way, they are not angels."

Trump also said he believed the Kurdish PKK are "more dangerous of a terrorist threat" than IS, echoing Erdogan's rhetoric.

Ankara says Syria's main Kurdish force, the People's Protection Units (YPG), is a "terrorist" offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a bloody insurgency inside Turkey since 1984.

Moscow has stepped into the void left by the US withdrawal, deploying patrols to prevent clashes between Syrian and Turkish forces.

The Kremlin and the Turkish presidency said Erdogan would meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the coming days, as both sides seek to prevent a war between Turkey and Syria.

The Turkish government can count on widespread support for its operation at home, where a decades-long bloody insurgency by Kurdish militants has killed tens of thousands of people.

But Western powers fear it will endanger the battle against IS. Thousands of IS prisoners are held in Kurdish-run camps in the region.

Europe has taken an increasingly tough line with Turkey and several countries, including Britain, France and Germany, have imposed arms embargoes on Turkey over the operation.&nbsp;

Jihadist fears

The UN Security Council warned in a unanimously adopted statement of a risk of "dispersion" of jihadist prisoners but stopped short of calling for an end to Turkey's offensive.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Wednesday it was "freezing" operations against IS.

The force's head Mazloum Abdi told Kurdish television channel Ronahi it would make do with "defensive" operations against the group, which maintains sleeper cells and a presence in Syria's vast desert despite its territorial defeat.

Since launching their assault on October 9, Turkey and its Syrian rebel proxies have secured more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) of the border, but Ras al-Ain has held out.

Erdogan wants to create a buffer zone stretching 30 kilometres from the border into Syrian territory.

He wants to destroy Kurdish hopes of an autonomous enclave that could serve as a launchpad for attacks in Turkey, and to resettle some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees Ankara is hosting.

The offensive has left dozens of civilians dead, mostly on the Kurdish side, and displaced at least 160,000 people.

Hundreds of Syrian Kurds entered neighbouring Iraqi's Kurdish autonomous region Wednesday, mostly women and children.

Turkey rebuffed international pressure to curb its deadly offensive against Kurdish forces in Syria on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump dispatched his deputy Mike Pence to Ankara to demand a ceasefire.

Turkey rebuffed international pressure to curb its deadly offensive against Kurdish forces in Syria on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump dispatched his deputy Mike Pence to Ankara to demand a ceasefire. But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed that Turkey's operation -- which has been facilitated by the withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria -- would continue. On another front, Kurdish forces struck a desperate deal with Damascus and stepped aside to allow Syrian regime troops and allied Russian soldiers enter the border town of Kobane on Wednesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Kobane is a highly symbolic town for Syria's Kurds, whose forces had in 2015 wrested the town from Islamic State (IS) group control in an epic battle backed by the US-led coalition. Days after US troops abruptly began withdrawing, clashes continued across the region on Thursday, with Kurdish fighters in the border town of Ras al-Ain burning tyres in a bid to blind Ankara's warplanes and digging in against a ground offensive by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels. Watch: China's game-plan in Syria × The Turkish operation, now in its second week, has triggered a flurry of diplomacy among major powers. Trump sent Pence along with his top diplomat Mike Pompeo to Turkey amid the greatest crisis in relations for decades between the NATO allies, with talks due in Ankara early Thursday. Facing a barrage of criticism in Washington for abandoning the Kurds, Trump has slapped sanctions on three Turkish ministers and raised tariffs on its steel industry. Pence's office said the US would pursue "punishing economic sanctions" unless there was "an immediate ceasefire". "Don't be a fool," Trump warned Erdogan in an extraordinary letter sent the day Turkey launched its incursion into northeastern Syria -- warning history risked branding him a "devil." In language shorn of diplomatic niceties Trump began the letter, dated October 9, with an outright threat. "You don't want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don't want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy -- and I will." he wrote in the missive, whose authenticity was confirmed to AFP by the White House. But Erdogan told the Turkish parliament that the only way to solve Syria's problems was for the Kurdish forces to "lay down their arms... destroy all their traps and get out of the safe zone that we have designated." Trump says Kurds 'protected' Trump again dismissed the idea that pulling out 1,000 troops -- practically the entire US contingent in the region -- had been a betrayal of Kurdish militants who bore the brunt of the fight against IS in recent years. "The Kurds are very well protected," Trump told reporters at the White House. "By the way, they are not angels." Trump also said he believed the Kurdish PKK are "more dangerous of a terrorist threat" than IS, echoing Erdogan's rhetoric. Ankara says Syria's main Kurdish force, the People's Protection Units (YPG), is a "terrorist" offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a bloody insurgency inside Turkey since 1984. Moscow has stepped into the void left by the US withdrawal, deploying patrols to prevent clashes between Syrian and Turkish forces. The Kremlin and the Turkish presidency said Erdogan would meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the coming days, as both sides seek to prevent a war between Turkey and Syria. The Turkish government can count on widespread support for its operation at home, where a decades-long bloody insurgency by Kurdish militants has killed tens of thousands of people. But Western powers fear it will endanger the battle against IS. Thousands of IS prisoners are held in Kurdish-run camps in the region. Europe has taken an increasingly tough line with Turkey and several countries, including Britain, France and Germany, have imposed arms embargoes on Turkey over the operation. Jihadist fears The UN Security Council warned in a unanimously adopted statement of a risk of "dispersion" of jihadist prisoners but stopped short of calling for an end to Turkey's offensive. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Wednesday it was "freezing" operations against IS. The force's head Mazloum Abdi told Kurdish television channel Ronahi it would make do with "defensive" operations against the group, which maintains sleeper cells and a presence in Syria's vast desert despite its territorial defeat. Since launching their assault on October 9, Turkey and its Syrian rebel proxies have secured more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) of the border, but Ras al-Ain has held out. Erdogan wants to create a buffer zone stretching 30 kilometres from the border into Syrian territory. He wants to destroy Kurdish hopes of an autonomous enclave that could serve as a launchpad for attacks in Turkey, and to resettle some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees Ankara is hosting. The offensive has left dozens of civilians dead, mostly on the Kurdish side, and displaced at least 160,000 people. Hundreds of Syrian Kurds entered neighbouring Iraqi's Kurdish autonomous region Wednesday, mostly women and children.

Turkey defiant on Syria offensive as US demands ceasefire

By Kerstin Carlson

For more than a year, European powers have dallied over the question of what to do with the tens of thousands of Islamic State (IS) fighters and adherents captured following the fall of the so-called caliphate in Syria and Iraq.

Now the US decision to withdraw troops and Turkey’s subsequent invasion of northern Syria on October 9 means the West has lost the luxury of inaction.

Since IS’s territorial defeat in March 2019, camps housing “IS families” and other displaced persons have swollen far in excess of their capacity. In Syria, the largest camp, Al-Hawl, exceeds 70,000 people.

The Turkish offensive has drawn the resources of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces away from guarding the camps. Predictably, detainees have been escaping. On October 14, more than 700 IS adherents (men, women, and children, although reportedly no fighters) escaped the Ain Issa camp in Syria. The US had attempted to move 60 “high value” IS prisoners before its troops withdrew, but failed. Expect more escapes, including of IS fighters, in the days and weeks to come.

Repatriation

Prior to the Turkish invasion, European nations had been wringing their hands, but doing little else, regarding the problem of foreign and other citizens in detention in Syria and Iraq. It’s estimated that 40,000 foreign fighters, including 6,000 western Europeans, travelled to Syria and Iraq to join the group.

The two options most hotly debated regarding European citizens were repatriation and trials on site, where the detainees are being held. What to do with Iraqi and Syrian citizens was to be left to Iraq and Syria.

Of the two options, repatriation of nationals is the right choice. European countries, however, have equivocated. Europe does not want these citizens, understood as traitorous at best, dangerous at worst. The notion of danger includes even very small children, who some argue should be understood as “radicalised” or “cubs of the caliphate,” irreparably marked by the violence and indoctrination they have experienced.

This narrative has taken precedence over the reports regarding the inhumane conditions in the camps in Syria: overflowing sewage leaking into tents, worms in the water, extreme weather conditions resulting in death, particularly for babies and young children. The case of Shamima Begum, who left the UK as a 15-year-old to join IS and whose citizenship was later revoked by the British government, is a stark example of this. Her baby died a few weeks after he was born in the al-Roj camp in March 2019.

Britain is not alone: Most European countries refuse to repatriate citizens picked up in Syria and Iraq, or even, in fact, to count or identify them. Only a few exceptional repatriation instances exist, including a handful of French and Dutch orphans and a large mixed group of people including children to Germany. Kosovo and Kazakstan have been open to repatriation and Turkey and Russia have taken some orphans. In June, the Kurds released 800 detainees back to their families in Syria.

Repatriated IS fighters and adherents would stand trial in their home countries under domestic criminal law.

IS tribunals

A second option, trials on site for IS adherents regardless of citizenship, was gaining momentum prior to the Turkish invasion, with several countries promoting the idea of an international tribunal. The idea of constructing an ad hoc tribunal in the region promised to solve the detainee impasse for Western countries and the SDF.

But there are several problems with such an option. First, because the SDF is not an official government but rather provisionally in charge of territory in Syria, an ad hoc court with international support could not be set up in the Kurdish area of northern Syria. This leaves Iraq as the likely site. Constructing such an international tribunal in Iraq for IS adherents was the topic of a meeting held between Britain, France, Germany and three other countries in Copenhagen on October 11. On the table is a hybrid structure, involving both international and Iraqi judges.

But an ad hoc tribunal in Iraq would need to contend with Iraqi law, which allows the death penalty, as well as the deeply problematic Iraqi trials already underway of IS affiliates. For the past several years, the Iraqi government has been subjecting IS fighters and affiliates to what can only be called sham trials. Trials average ten minutes, and many defendants will not have met their defence attorney – who is paid $25 per case – before the trial.

Punishment for IS affiliation includes life in prison when judges are lenient, but can also bring death by hanging. Iraqi courts have issued hundreds of death sentences, including against foreign nationals, although it’s not clear if any have yet been carried out.

What kind of justice? 
 
Internationally financed courts will not hand out death sentences – even life imprisonment is a sentence rarely pronounced by international or hybrid criminal courts. Gross violations of procedural rights are also unpalatable for Western-run institutions. But the numbers of detainees in prison prior to the Turkish offensive as well as the dearth of information regarding what crimes they have committed beyond affiliation with IS mean that rights-respecting court processes will take huge resources and could be inconclusive.

Any just tribunal would release most of the convicted prisoners within, at most, a few years if jail terms are to conform to widely accepted humanitarian standards. This would simply defer by a few years the question of what in fact should be done with IS affiliates – where should they live and where do they belong?

In early 2019, the Kurds set up trials for IS adherents in Kurdish-administered areas of Iraq and Syria, as an antidote to flawed Iraqi justice. Defence counsel was provided and sentences were capped at 20 years: rehabilitation, not revenge, was the goal, one judge told a journalist for NPR. This promising development may be one more casualty of the changed circumstances on the ground.

The first, still best, option – repatriation of foreign nationals – is arguably a quickly closing window. Even then, questions would remain about what should happen to Iraqi and Syrian nationals, and what role the West should play in resolving their situation. But European powers must avoid taking the third option they’d been exercising by default – doing nothing, and waiting for circumstances to change.

(Kerstin Carlson is Associate Professor International Law, University of Southern Denmark) 
 
(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/western-states-must-repatriate-is-fighters-and-their-families-before-more-break-free-from-syrian-camps-125168">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) &nbsp; 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

By Kerstin Carlson For more than a year, European powers have dallied over the question of what to do with the tens of thousands of Islamic State (IS) fighters and adherents captured following the fall of the so-called caliphate in Syria and Iraq.

By Kerstin Carlson For more than a year, European powers have dallied over the question of what to do with the tens of thousands of Islamic State (IS) fighters and adherents captured following the fall of the so-called caliphate in Syria and Iraq. Now the US decision to withdraw troops and Turkey’s subsequent invasion of northern Syria on October 9 means the West has lost the luxury of inaction. Since IS’s territorial defeat in March 2019, camps housing “IS families” and other displaced persons have swollen far in excess of their capacity. In Syria, the largest camp, Al-Hawl, exceeds 70,000 people. The Turkish offensive has drawn the resources of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces away from guarding the camps. Predictably, detainees have been escaping. On October 14, more than 700 IS adherents (men, women, and children, although reportedly no fighters) escaped the Ain Issa camp in Syria. The US had attempted to move 60 “high value” IS prisoners before its troops withdrew, but failed. Expect more escapes, including of IS fighters, in the days and weeks to come. Repatriation Prior to the Turkish invasion, European nations had been wringing their hands, but doing little else, regarding the problem of foreign and other citizens in detention in Syria and Iraq. It’s estimated that 40,000 foreign fighters, including 6,000 western Europeans, travelled to Syria and Iraq to join the group. The two options most hotly debated regarding European citizens were repatriation and trials on site, where the detainees are being held. What to do with Iraqi and Syrian citizens was to be left to Iraq and Syria. Of the two options, repatriation of nationals is the right choice. European countries, however, have equivocated. Europe does not want these citizens, understood as traitorous at best, dangerous at worst. The notion of danger includes even very small children, who some argue should be understood as “radicalised” or “cubs of the caliphate,” irreparably marked by the violence and indoctrination they have experienced. This narrative has taken precedence over the reports regarding the inhumane conditions in the camps in Syria: overflowing sewage leaking into tents, worms in the water, extreme weather conditions resulting in death, particularly for babies and young children. The case of Shamima Begum, who left the UK as a 15-year-old to join IS and whose citizenship was later revoked by the British government, is a stark example of this. Her baby died a few weeks after he was born in the al-Roj camp in March 2019. Britain is not alone: Most European countries refuse to repatriate citizens picked up in Syria and Iraq, or even, in fact, to count or identify them. Only a few exceptional repatriation instances exist, including a handful of French and Dutch orphans and a large mixed group of people including children to Germany. Kosovo and Kazakstan have been open to repatriation and Turkey and Russia have taken some orphans. In June, the Kurds released 800 detainees back to their families in Syria. Repatriated IS fighters and adherents would stand trial in their home countries under domestic criminal law. IS tribunals A second option, trials on site for IS adherents regardless of citizenship, was gaining momentum prior to the Turkish invasion, with several countries promoting the idea of an international tribunal. The idea of constructing an ad hoc tribunal in the region promised to solve the detainee impasse for Western countries and the SDF. But there are several problems with such an option. First, because the SDF is not an official government but rather provisionally in charge of territory in Syria, an ad hoc court with international support could not be set up in the Kurdish area of northern Syria. This leaves Iraq as the likely site. Constructing such an international tribunal in Iraq for IS adherents was the topic of a meeting held between Britain, France, Germany and three other countries in Copenhagen on October 11. On the table is a hybrid structure, involving both international and Iraqi judges. But an ad hoc tribunal in Iraq would need to contend with Iraqi law, which allows the death penalty, as well as the deeply problematic Iraqi trials already underway of IS affiliates. For the past several years, the Iraqi government has been subjecting IS fighters and affiliates to what can only be called sham trials. Trials average ten minutes, and many defendants will not have met their defence attorney – who is paid $25 per case – before the trial. Punishment for IS affiliation includes life in prison when judges are lenient, but can also bring death by hanging. Iraqi courts have issued hundreds of death sentences, including against foreign nationals, although it’s not clear if any have yet been carried out. What kind of justice? Internationally financed courts will not hand out death sentences – even life imprisonment is a sentence rarely pronounced by international or hybrid criminal courts. Gross violations of procedural rights are also unpalatable for Western-run institutions. But the numbers of detainees in prison prior to the Turkish offensive as well as the dearth of information regarding what crimes they have committed beyond affiliation with IS mean that rights-respecting court processes will take huge resources and could be inconclusive. Any just tribunal would release most of the convicted prisoners within, at most, a few years if jail terms are to conform to widely accepted humanitarian standards. This would simply defer by a few years the question of what in fact should be done with IS affiliates – where should they live and where do they belong? In early 2019, the Kurds set up trials for IS adherents in Kurdish-administered areas of Iraq and Syria, as an antidote to flawed Iraqi justice. Defence counsel was provided and sentences were capped at 20 years: rehabilitation, not revenge, was the goal, one judge told a journalist for NPR. This promising development may be one more casualty of the changed circumstances on the ground. The first, still best, option – repatriation of foreign nationals – is arguably a quickly closing window. Even then, questions would remain about what should happen to Iraqi and Syrian nationals, and what role the West should play in resolving their situation. But European powers must avoid taking the third option they’d been exercising by default – doing nothing, and waiting for circumstances to change. (Kerstin Carlson is Associate Professor International Law, University of Southern Denmark) (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Western states must repatriate IS fighters before more break free from Syrian camps

By Haidar Khezri

Kurdish fighters under attack by Turkey have described President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from northern Syria as a “stab in the back.”

Since the bombing began on October 9, Turkish military operations against the Syrian Democratic Forces in northern Syria, Washington’s staunchest and most effective allies in the war against the Islamic State, has killed at least 11 civilians and an unconfirmed number of Kurdish fighters, with estimates ranging from dozens to hundreds.

Kurdish fighters are key partners to the US in the Middle East. From 2003 to 2017, they helped overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein, battled al-Qaida and pushed the Islamic State out of northern Iraq and Syria.

Kurdish women have fought on the front lines in all these battles, as they have done since the 19th-century Kurdish commander Kara Fatma led an Ottoman battalion of 700 men and 43 women against the Russian Empire.

That was unusual for the period – but, then again, Kurdish women have long been exceptions in the mostly conservative Middle East.

Who are the Kurds?

Kurdistan, where I was born, is among the largest nations in the world without a state. Around 35 million Kurds inhabit a mountainous zone straddling Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Armenia.

The Kurds were first split up politically in the 17th century when their territory was divided between the Ottoman and Safavid empires. Back then, the Roman scholar Pietro Della Valle travelled to the region and was surprised to find “Kurdish women commuting freely without hijab.” He noted in his 1667 travelogue that “they engage with Kurdish men and foreigners without any problems.”

After World War I, a treaty between Britain and France, called the Sykes-Picot Agreement, drew arbitrary borders across the Middle East, creating colonial protectorate states. The partition again fragmented the Kurds, this time across four countries: modern-day Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria.

The Kurds have been fighting for their sovereignty ever since. In recent decades, they have succeeded in establishing autonomously governed regions within Iraq and Syria.

But in Iran and Turkey, the Kurds continue their armed struggle. Both countries to view this ethnic minority as a terrorist threat and legally repress Kurdish populations.

This setup has put Kurdistan – domestically a rather peaceable, prosperous place with significant oil reserves – squarely in the center of a geopolitical quagmire.

Until Trump’s recent turnaround, the US had backed the Kurds in Syria, Iraq and Iran, where they were critical to defeating the Islamic State and served as jailers to about 11,000 captured IS fighters.

But Turkey – a US ally – sees the armed Kurds in Syria as an extension of the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has been fighting for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey since the 1980s.

In May 2018, over 250 people were killed when Turkey bombed the Kurdish-majority Syrian city of Afrin, which Turkish armed forces consider a “terrorist corridor.”

The feminists of the PKK

The Marxist-Leninist PKK, founded in 1978, may be an enemy of the Turkish state, but it is also one of the most feminist movements in the Middle East.

The group held its first congress on women’s rights in 1987, in which PKK co-founder Sakine Cansiz – who was assassinated in 2013 – proposed that its “liberation for all” rhetoric must include women’s liberation, too.

Today the party’s political agenda explicitly recognises religious minorities, dissidents and women as the crux of democracy.

In the autonomous Kurdish regions of Iraq and Syria, women have the same legal rights as men. Indeed, the Iraqi Kurdish regional government has a higher proportion of women than the United Kingdom – 30 per cent versus 20 per cent.

The charter of the semi-autonomous Syrian Federation of Kurdistan, founded in 2012, requires that women must hold a minimum of 40 per cent of all government posts. Every Kurdish Syrian public institution must also have two co-presidents, one male and one female.

Women also make up 30 per cent of Kurdish fighters deployed across the Middle East. More than 25,000 Kurdish women are deployed in Syria as the Women’s Protection Units, an all-female militia inspired by the KPP’s feminist liberation ideology.

In contrast, about 14 per cent of US military service members are women.

Female Kurdish troops rescued thousands of Yazidis trapped by the Islamic State on Iraq’s Mount Sinjar in 2014 and helped liberate the city of Raqqa from the Islamic State in 2017.

Equal in battle but not everywhere else

Despite the relative freedom of women in Kurdistan compared to elsewhere in the Middle East, Kurdish society is not entirely gender equal.

In 2014, only 12 of 250 judges in Iraqi Kurdistan were female, and just one of 21 government ministers was. Female genital mutilation, child marriage and honour killings – in which male family members murder women who are alleged to have disgraced their families – persist, particularly in rural areas of Kurdistan.

And, in my experience, feminist debates like equal pay for women and #MeToo aren’t yet a topic of conversation in Kurdistan.

Historically, too, it’s noteworthy that many famous female Kurdish leaders succeeded only because their empowerment did not challenge the male establishment.

During World War I, Lady Adela Khanum, leader of the Kurdish region of Halabja, saved the lives of numerous British army officers on the battlefield, earning her the nickname “Princess of the Brave.”

But she originally rose to power because she inherited the position when her husband died. While ruling Halabja from 1909 to 1924, she did not push a women’s rights agenda.

The hard labour of freedom

Kurdish women who were seen as threats to male authority have often been punished, sometimes with death.

That’s what happened to the very first woman to fight in the Kurdish army. Margaret George Malik quickly rose up among the all-male ranks in the 1960s to lead troops in the Kurdish war for independence from Iraq.

She was murdered in 1969 under mysterious circumstances. Some historians believe that Malik was killed by her lover because she rejected his marriage proposal. Others say she was assassinated by the Kurdish leadership, which feared her growing influence.

Either way, Malik’s murder speaks to the battles Kurdish women still fight today.

It’s meaningful that in the Kurdish language, the word for woman – “jin” – shares a root with the word for life: “jiyan.” And both jin and jiyan are related to the word “jan,” or labour pains.

In a region surrounded by threats – from Turkey’s attacks and Islamic State terrorism and patriarchy at home – the women of Kurdistan are fighting for their life and liberty. And the cost is hard, dangerous labour.

 
(Haidar Khezri is Assistant Professor, University of Central Florida)

(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the<a href="https://theconversation.com/kurds-targeted-in-turkish-attack-include-thousands-of-female-fighters-who-battled-islamic-state-125100"> original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) &nbsp;

By Haidar Khezri Kurdish fighters under attack by Turkey have described President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from northern Syria as a “stab in the back.

By Haidar Khezri Kurdish fighters under attack by Turkey have described President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from northern Syria as a “stab in the back.” Since the bombing began on October 9, Turkish military operations against the Syrian Democratic Forces in northern Syria, Washington’s staunchest and most effective allies in the war against the Islamic State, has killed at least 11 civilians and an unconfirmed number of Kurdish fighters, with estimates ranging from dozens to hundreds. Kurdish fighters are key partners to the US in the Middle East. From 2003 to 2017, they helped overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein, battled al-Qaida and pushed the Islamic State out of northern Iraq and Syria. Kurdish women have fought on the front lines in all these battles, as they have done since the 19th-century Kurdish commander Kara Fatma led an Ottoman battalion of 700 men and 43 women against the Russian Empire. That was unusual for the period – but, then again, Kurdish women have long been exceptions in the mostly conservative Middle East. Who are the Kurds? Kurdistan, where I was born, is among the largest nations in the world without a state. Around 35 million Kurds inhabit a mountainous zone straddling Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Armenia. The Kurds were first split up politically in the 17th century when their territory was divided between the Ottoman and Safavid empires. Back then, the Roman scholar Pietro Della Valle travelled to the region and was surprised to find “Kurdish women commuting freely without hijab.” He noted in his 1667 travelogue that “they engage with Kurdish men and foreigners without any problems.” After World War I, a treaty between Britain and France, called the Sykes-Picot Agreement, drew arbitrary borders across the Middle East, creating colonial protectorate states. The partition again fragmented the Kurds, this time across four countries: modern-day Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. The Kurds have been fighting for their sovereignty ever since. In recent decades, they have succeeded in establishing autonomously governed regions within Iraq and Syria. But in Iran and Turkey, the Kurds continue their armed struggle. Both countries to view this ethnic minority as a terrorist threat and legally repress Kurdish populations. This setup has put Kurdistan – domestically a rather peaceable, prosperous place with significant oil reserves – squarely in the center of a geopolitical quagmire. Until Trump’s recent turnaround, the US had backed the Kurds in Syria, Iraq and Iran, where they were critical to defeating the Islamic State and served as jailers to about 11,000 captured IS fighters. But Turkey – a US ally – sees the armed Kurds in Syria as an extension of the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has been fighting for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey since the 1980s. In May 2018, over 250 people were killed when Turkey bombed the Kurdish-majority Syrian city of Afrin, which Turkish armed forces consider a “terrorist corridor.” The feminists of the PKK The Marxist-Leninist PKK, founded in 1978, may be an enemy of the Turkish state, but it is also one of the most feminist movements in the Middle East. The group held its first congress on women’s rights in 1987, in which PKK co-founder Sakine Cansiz – who was assassinated in 2013 – proposed that its “liberation for all” rhetoric must include women’s liberation, too. Today the party’s political agenda explicitly recognises religious minorities, dissidents and women as the crux of democracy. In the autonomous Kurdish regions of Iraq and Syria, women have the same legal rights as men. Indeed, the Iraqi Kurdish regional government has a higher proportion of women than the United Kingdom – 30 per cent versus 20 per cent. The charter of the semi-autonomous Syrian Federation of Kurdistan, founded in 2012, requires that women must hold a minimum of 40 per cent of all government posts. Every Kurdish Syrian public institution must also have two co-presidents, one male and one female. Women also make up 30 per cent of Kurdish fighters deployed across the Middle East. More than 25,000 Kurdish women are deployed in Syria as the Women’s Protection Units, an all-female militia inspired by the KPP’s feminist liberation ideology. In contrast, about 14 per cent of US military service members are women. Female Kurdish troops rescued thousands of Yazidis trapped by the Islamic State on Iraq’s Mount Sinjar in 2014 and helped liberate the city of Raqqa from the Islamic State in 2017. Equal in battle but not everywhere else Despite the relative freedom of women in Kurdistan compared to elsewhere in the Middle East, Kurdish society is not entirely gender equal. In 2014, only 12 of 250 judges in Iraqi Kurdistan were female, and just one of 21 government ministers was. Female genital mutilation, child marriage and honour killings – in which male family members murder women who are alleged to have disgraced their families – persist, particularly in rural areas of Kurdistan. And, in my experience, feminist debates like equal pay for women and #MeToo aren’t yet a topic of conversation in Kurdistan. Historically, too, it’s noteworthy that many famous female Kurdish leaders succeeded only because their empowerment did not challenge the male establishment. During World War I, Lady Adela Khanum, leader of the Kurdish region of Halabja, saved the lives of numerous British army officers on the battlefield, earning her the nickname “Princess of the Brave.” But she originally rose to power because she inherited the position when her husband died. While ruling Halabja from 1909 to 1924, she did not push a women’s rights agenda. The hard labour of freedom Kurdish women who were seen as threats to male authority have often been punished, sometimes with death. That’s what happened to the very first woman to fight in the Kurdish army. Margaret George Malik quickly rose up among the all-male ranks in the 1960s to lead troops in the Kurdish war for independence from Iraq. She was murdered in 1969 under mysterious circumstances. Some historians believe that Malik was killed by her lover because she rejected his marriage proposal. Others say she was assassinated by the Kurdish leadership, which feared her growing influence. Either way, Malik’s murder speaks to the battles Kurdish women still fight today. It’s meaningful that in the Kurdish language, the word for woman – “jin” – shares a root with the word for life: “jiyan.” And both jin and jiyan are related to the word “jan,” or labour pains. In a region surrounded by threats – from Turkey’s attacks and Islamic State terrorism and patriarchy at home – the women of Kurdistan are fighting for their life and liberty. And the cost is hard, dangerous labour. (Haidar Khezri is Assistant Professor, University of Central Florida) (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Kurdish women have been exceptions in mostly conservative Middle East

The United States is not aware of any "major" escape of Islamic State extremists since <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russian-forces-patrolling-between-syrian-turkish-forces-256159">Turkey launched its assault on Syrian Kurdish fighters</a> holding the prisoners, an official said Tuesday.

"We haven't seen any major successful breakout so far of the detainees," the senior administration official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

His remarks appeared at odds with US Defense Secretary Mark Esper who, criticising Turkey on Monday, said the incursion "resulted in the release of many dangerous ISIS detainees."

Vice President Mike Pence will leave within 24 hours to Ankara to press <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-nations-security-council-to-meet-on-turkish-syria-assault-256140">Turkey for a ceasefire in its offensive against Syrian Kurdish fighters</a>, a US official said Tuesday.

"We will launching off to Ankara in the next 24 hours," the official said, a day after Pence announced his trip to Turkey without specifying the timing.

Turkey on Tuesday vowed to pursue its Syria offensive and slammed a "dirty deal" between President Bashar al-Assad's regime and Kurdish forces after the withdrawal of US forces from northern Syria.&nbsp;

"We will continue to combat all terrorist groups, including Daesh, whether or not the world agrees to support our efforts," Fahrettin Altun, communications director at the Turkish presidency, told AFP, using an alternative acronym for the Islamic State group.

Turkish presidency slams 'dirty deal' between Syria's Assad and Kurdish forces.

&nbsp;

The United States is not aware of any "major" escape of Islamic State extremists since Turkey launched its assault on Syrian Kurdish fighters holding the prisoners, an official said Tuesday.

The United States is not aware of any "major" escape of Islamic State extremists since Turkey launched its assault on Syrian Kurdish fighters holding the prisoners, an official said Tuesday. "We haven't seen any major successful breakout so far of the detainees," the senior administration official told reporters on condition of anonymity. His remarks appeared at odds with US Defense Secretary Mark Esper who, criticising Turkey on Monday, said the incursion "resulted in the release of many dangerous ISIS detainees." Vice President Mike Pence will leave within 24 hours to Ankara to press Turkey for a ceasefire in its offensive against Syrian Kurdish fighters, a US official said Tuesday. "We will launching off to Ankara in the next 24 hours," the official said, a day after Pence announced his trip to Turkey without specifying the timing. Turkey on Tuesday vowed to pursue its Syria offensive and slammed a "dirty deal" between President Bashar al-Assad's regime and Kurdish forces after the withdrawal of US forces from northern Syria. "We will continue to combat all terrorist groups, including Daesh, whether or not the world agrees to support our efforts," Fahrettin Altun, communications director at the Turkish presidency, told AFP, using an alternative acronym for the Islamic State group. Turkish presidency slams 'dirty deal' between Syria's Assad and Kurdish forces.

United States officials not aware of escape of Islamic State extremists, Mike Pence leaving for Turkey in 24 hours

As Turkey continued to <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/celebrations-erupt-as-kurds-and-syrian-government-reach-a-deal-255737">push inside northeast Syria</a>, US President Donald Trump said Europe had the chance to get Islamic State terrorists but "did not want the cost".

"We are not going into another war between people who have been fighting with each other for 200 years," the US president said, adding,"Europe had a chance to get their ISIS prisoners, but didn’t want the cost."

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Brian Kilmeade over at <a href="https://twitter.com/foxandfriends?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@foxandfriends</a> got it all wrong. We are not going into another war between people who have been fighting with each other for 200 years. Europe had a chance to get their ISIS prisoners, but didn’t want the cost. “Let the USA pay,” they said...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1183702528787189767?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2019</a></blockquote>
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“Let the USA pay,” they said," Trump added.

"Big sanctions on Turkey coming! Do people really think we should go to war with NATO member Turkey? Never ending wars will end!" Trump said.

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....Kurds may be releasing some to get us involved. Easily recaptured by Turkey or European Nations from where many came, but they should move quickly. Big sanctions on Turkey coming! Do people really think we should go to war with NATO Member Turkey? Never ending wars will end!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1183702529403695104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2019</a></blockquote>
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"The same people who got us into the Middle East mess are the people who most want to stay there!&nbsp;he added.

Meanwhile, Turkey denied that its offensive in northern Syria had allowed Islamic State prisoners to break out of detention camps

Turkey President Erdogan had earlier hit out at "disinformation" reports that Turkey's offensive in notheast Syria had allowed Islamic State prisoners to escape.&nbsp;

Watch Video:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe src="http://13.235.153.162/videos/day-5-of-turkeys-military-operation-in-syria-255702/embed" width="560" height="350" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" autoplay=1 allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

Kurdish authorities had said on Sunday that 800 IS family members being held in a camp at Ain Issa had fled due to Turkish bombing.&nbsp;

NATO member France had said earlier that it was "worried" by the situation and called for an end to the Turkish offensive even as Turkey continued its offensive push.

 
&nbsp;

As Turkey continued to push inside northeast Syria, US President Donald Trump said Europe had the chance to get Islamic State terrorists but "did not want the cost".

As Turkey continued to push inside northeast Syria, US President Donald Trump said Europe had the chance to get Islamic State terrorists but "did not want the cost". "We are not going into another war between people who have been fighting with each other for 200 years," the US president said, adding,"Europe had a chance to get their ISIS prisoners, but didn’t want the cost." Brian Kilmeade over at @foxandfriends got it all wrong. We are not going into another war between people who have been fighting with each other for 200 years. Europe had a chance to get their ISIS prisoners, but didn’t want the cost. “Let the USA pay,” they said... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 14, 2019 × “Let the USA pay,” they said," Trump added. "Big sanctions on Turkey coming! Do people really think we should go to war with NATO member Turkey? Never ending wars will end!" Trump said. ....Kurds may be releasing some to get us involved. Easily recaptured by Turkey or European Nations from where many came, but they should move quickly. Big sanctions on Turkey coming! Do people really think we should go to war with NATO Member Turkey? Never ending wars will end! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 14, 2019 × "The same people who got us into the Middle East mess are the people who most want to stay there! he added. Meanwhile, Turkey denied that its offensive in northern Syria had allowed Islamic State prisoners to break out of detention camps Turkey President Erdogan had earlier hit out at "disinformation" reports that Turkey's offensive in notheast Syria had allowed Islamic State prisoners to escape. Watch Video: Kurdish authorities had said on Sunday that 800 IS family members being held in a camp at Ain Issa had fled due to Turkish bombing. NATO member France had said earlier that it was "worried" by the situation and called for an end to the Turkish offensive even as Turkey continued its offensive push.

Big sanctions coming on Turkey, declares US President Trump

Syrian envoy to India, Dr Riad Abbas, has lauded New Delhi for backing his country after the Turkish invasion. Speaking to WION's diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, the Syrian envoy backed India's move on&nbsp;the Kashmir issue and its policy to come hard on Pakistan.

WION: Your country has been invaded by Turkey. Your reaction?

Dr Riad Abbas: The Turkish government supports terrorism in Syria and the Turkish invasion is to protect the Islamic State and its followers.&nbsp;

They want to create a free zone in the area to put all terrorist groups there with the help of the Turkish government. The US and the Turkish government protect terrorist elements. Some terrorists are being transferred by the US from Afghanistan and South Asia to the location. We are in the process to liberate the area from foreign troops and terror groups. Our army took action in the area. We plan to defeat the Turks and terrors groups.

WION: Your reaction to New Delhi backing your country and have you briefed Indian officials on invasion by Turkey?

Dr Riad Abbas: India is a great country with a strong voice in the international community. We appreciate India's stance since the beginning of the crisis. We appreciate the statement of India on Turkish aggression on Syria. We usually do a weekly or monthly brief (to Indian officials) about the current situation in Syria.

WION: What do you have to say about Pakistan's support to Turkey?

Dr Riad Abbas: I don't have the statement but Turkey supports terrorism, all countries behind Turkey support terror.&nbsp;

WION: Do you expect any support from the Arab League and OIC?

Dr Riad Abbas: We are not keen to see what they say. They can say whatever they like and we will take action on the ground in accordance with the will of the Syrian people.&nbsp;

WION: What do you have to say about Kashmir?

Dr Riad Abbas: On the Kashmir issue, it has to be solved by discussion without any third country's participation and according to the Shimla and Lahore accords. India has the right to protect its people on the ground anywhere. 
&nbsp;

Syrian envoy to India, Dr Riad Abbas, has lauded New Delhi for backing his country after the Turkish invasion. Speaking to WION's diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, the Syrian envoy backed India's move on the Kashmir issue and its policy to come hard on Pakistan.

Syrian envoy to India, Dr Riad Abbas, has lauded New Delhi for backing his country after the Turkish invasion. Speaking to WION's diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, the Syrian envoy backed India's move on the Kashmir issue and its policy to come hard on Pakistan. WION: Your country has been invaded by Turkey. Your reaction? Dr Riad Abbas: The Turkish government supports terrorism in Syria and the Turkish invasion is to protect the Islamic State and its followers. They want to create a free zone in the area to put all terrorist groups there with the help of the Turkish government. The US and the Turkish government protect terrorist elements. Some terrorists are being transferred by the US from Afghanistan and South Asia to the location. We are in the process to liberate the area from foreign troops and terror groups. Our army took action in the area. We plan to defeat the Turks and terrors groups. WION: Your reaction to New Delhi backing your country and have you briefed Indian officials on invasion by Turkey? Dr Riad Abbas: India is a great country with a strong voice in the international community. We appreciate India's stance since the beginning of the crisis. We appreciate the statement of India on Turkish aggression on Syria. We usually do a weekly or monthly brief (to Indian officials) about the current situation in Syria. WION: What do you have to say about Pakistan's support to Turkey? Dr Riad Abbas: I don't have the statement but Turkey supports terrorism, all countries behind Turkey support terror. WION: Do you expect any support from the Arab League and OIC? Dr Riad Abbas: We are not keen to see what they say. They can say whatever they like and we will take action on the ground in accordance with the will of the Syrian people. WION: What do you have to say about Kashmir? Dr Riad Abbas: On the Kashmir issue, it has to be solved by discussion without any third country's participation and according to the Shimla and Lahore accords. India has the right to protect its people on the ground anywhere.

We appreciate India's stance on Syria after Turkish aggression: Syrian envoy to India Riad Abbas

When Russian President Vladimir Putin lands in Riyadh this week for the second time in 12 years, his call for endorsement of his proposal to replace the US defence umbrella in the Gulf with a multilateral security architecture is likely to rank high on his agenda.

So is Putin’s push for Saudi Arabia to finalise the acquisition of Russia’s S-400 anti-missile defence system in the wake of the failure of US weaponry to intercept drones and missiles that last month struck key Saudi oil installations.

“We are ready to help Saudi Arabia protect their people. They need to make clever decisions…by deciding to buy the most advanced S-400 air-defence systems. These kinds of systems are capable of defending any kind of infrastructure in Saudi Arabia from any kind of attack,” Putin said immediately after the attacks.

Putin’s push for a multilateral security approach is helped by changing realities in the Gulf as a result of President Donald Trump’s repeated recent demonstrations of his unreliability as an ally.

Doubts about Trump have been fuelled by his reluctance to respond more forcefully to perceived Iranian provocations, including the downing of a US drone in June and the September attacks on the Saudi facilities as well as his distancing himself from Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu following last month’s elections, and most recently, the president’s leaving the Kurds to their own devices as they confront a Turkish invasion in Syria.

Framed in transactional terms in which Saudi Arabia pays for a service, Trump’s decision this week to send up to 3,000 troops and additional air defences to the kingdom is likely to do little to enhance confidence in his reliability.

By comparison, Putin, with the backing of Chinese President Xi Jinping, seems a much more reliable partner even if Riyadh differs with Moscow and Beijing on key issues, including Iran, Syria and Turkey.

“While Russia is a reliable ally, the US is not. Many in the Middle East may not approve of Moscow supporting Bashar al-Assad’s regime, but they respect Vladimir Putin for sticking by Russia’s beleaguered ally in Syria,” said Middle East scholar and commentator Mark N Katz.

In a twist of irony, Trump’s unreliability coupled with an Iran’s strategy of gradual escalation in response to the president’s imposition of harsh economic sanctions in a bid to force the Islamic republic to the negotiating table appear to have moderated what was perceived as a largely disastrous assertive and robust go-it-alone Saudi foreign and defense policy posture in recent years.

While everyone would benefit from a dialling down of tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Trump’s overall performance as the guarantor of security in the Gulf could in the longer term pave the way for a more multilateral approach to the region’s security architecture.

In the latest sign of Saudi willingness to step back from the brink, Saudi Arabia is holding back channel talks for the first time in two years with Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The talks began after both sides declared partial ceasefires in the more than four-year-long Yemeni war.

The talks potentially open the door to a broader Russian-sponsored deal in the context of some understanding about non-aggression between the kingdom and Iran, in which Saudi Arabia would re-establish diplomatic relations with Syria in exchange for the Islamic republic dropping its support for the Houthis.

Restoring diplomatic relations and reversing the Arab League’s suspension of Syrian membership because of the civil war would constitute a victory for Al-Assad’s main backers, Russia and Iran. It would grant greater legitimacy to a leader viewed by significant segments of the international community as a pariah.

A Saudi-Iranian swap of Syria for Yemen could also facilitate Saudi financial contributions to the reconstruction of war-ravaged Syria. Saudi Arabia was conspicuously absent at last month’s Rebuild Syria Expo in Damascus.&nbsp;

Putin is likely to further leverage his enhanced credibility as well as Saudi-Russian cooperation in curtailing oil production to boost prices to persuade Saudi Arabia to follow through on promises to invest in Russia.

Saudi Arabia had agreed to take a stake in Russia’s Novatek Arctic-2 liquefied natural gas complex, acquire Sibur, Russia's largest petrochemical facility, and invest an additional $6 billion in future projects.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak predicted that “about 30 agreements and contracts will be signed during President Putin’s visit to Saudi Arabia. We are working on it. These are investment projects, and the sum in question is billions of dollars.”

In anticipation of Putin’s visit, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said it was opening its first overseas office in Riyadh.

RDIF and the kingdom's counterpart, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), are believed to be looking at some $2.5 billion in investment in technology, medicine, infrastructure, transport and industrial production.

The Russian fund is also discussing with Aramco, the Saudi state-owned oil company, $3 billion in investments in oil services and oil and gas conversion projects.

Saudi interest in economic cooperation with Russia goes beyond economics. Ensuring that world powers have an increasing stake in the kingdom’s security is one pillar of a more multilateral regional approach. 
&nbsp;

When Russian President Vladimir Putin lands in Riyadh this week for the second time in 12 years, his call for endorsement of his proposal to replace the US defence umbrella in the Gulf with a multilateral security architecture is likely to rank high on his agenda.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin lands in Riyadh this week for the second time in 12 years, his call for endorsement of his proposal to replace the US defence umbrella in the Gulf with a multilateral security architecture is likely to rank high on his agenda. So is Putin’s push for Saudi Arabia to finalise the acquisition of Russia’s S-400 anti-missile defence system in the wake of the failure of US weaponry to intercept drones and missiles that last month struck key Saudi oil installations. “We are ready to help Saudi Arabia protect their people. They need to make clever decisions…by deciding to buy the most advanced S-400 air-defence systems. These kinds of systems are capable of defending any kind of infrastructure in Saudi Arabia from any kind of attack,” Putin said immediately after the attacks. Putin’s push for a multilateral security approach is helped by changing realities in the Gulf as a result of President Donald Trump’s repeated recent demonstrations of his unreliability as an ally. Doubts about Trump have been fuelled by his reluctance to respond more forcefully to perceived Iranian provocations, including the downing of a US drone in June and the September attacks on the Saudi facilities as well as his distancing himself from Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu following last month’s elections, and most recently, the president’s leaving the Kurds to their own devices as they confront a Turkish invasion in Syria. Framed in transactional terms in which Saudi Arabia pays for a service, Trump’s decision this week to send up to 3,000 troops and additional air defences to the kingdom is likely to do little to enhance confidence in his reliability. By comparison, Putin, with the backing of Chinese President Xi Jinping, seems a much more reliable partner even if Riyadh differs with Moscow and Beijing on key issues, including Iran, Syria and Turkey. “While Russia is a reliable ally, the US is not. Many in the Middle East may not approve of Moscow supporting Bashar al-Assad’s regime, but they respect Vladimir Putin for sticking by Russia’s beleaguered ally in Syria,” said Middle East scholar and commentator Mark N Katz. In a twist of irony, Trump’s unreliability coupled with an Iran’s strategy of gradual escalation in response to the president’s imposition of harsh economic sanctions in a bid to force the Islamic republic to the negotiating table appear to have moderated what was perceived as a largely disastrous assertive and robust go-it-alone Saudi foreign and defense policy posture in recent years. While everyone would benefit from a dialling down of tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Trump’s overall performance as the guarantor of security in the Gulf could in the longer term pave the way for a more multilateral approach to the region’s security architecture. In the latest sign of Saudi willingness to step back from the brink, Saudi Arabia is holding back channel talks for the first time in two years with Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The talks began after both sides declared partial ceasefires in the more than four-year-long Yemeni war. The talks potentially open the door to a broader Russian-sponsored deal in the context of some understanding about non-aggression between the kingdom and Iran, in which Saudi Arabia would re-establish diplomatic relations with Syria in exchange for the Islamic republic dropping its support for the Houthis. Restoring diplomatic relations and reversing the Arab League’s suspension of Syrian membership because of the civil war would constitute a victory for Al-Assad’s main backers, Russia and Iran. It would grant greater legitimacy to a leader viewed by significant segments of the international community as a pariah. A Saudi-Iranian swap of Syria for Yemen could also facilitate Saudi financial contributions to the reconstruction of war-ravaged Syria. Saudi Arabia was conspicuously absent at last month’s Rebuild Syria Expo in Damascus. Putin is likely to further leverage his enhanced credibility as well as Saudi-Russian cooperation in curtailing oil production to boost prices to persuade Saudi Arabia to follow through on promises to invest in Russia. Saudi Arabia had agreed to take a stake in Russia’s Novatek Arctic-2 liquefied natural gas complex, acquire Sibur, Russia's largest petrochemical facility, and invest an additional $6 billion in future projects. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak predicted that “about 30 agreements and contracts will be signed during President Putin’s visit to Saudi Arabia. We are working on it. These are investment projects, and the sum in question is billions of dollars.” In anticipation of Putin’s visit, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said it was opening its first overseas office in Riyadh. RDIF and the kingdom's counterpart, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), are believed to be looking at some $2.5 billion in investment in technology, medicine, infrastructure, transport and industrial production. The Russian fund is also discussing with Aramco, the Saudi state-owned oil company, $3 billion in investments in oil services and oil and gas conversion projects. Saudi interest in economic cooperation with Russia goes beyond economics. Ensuring that world powers have an increasing stake in the kingdom’s security is one pillar of a more multilateral regional approach.

Saudi Arabia's interest in Russia goes beyond economics

As Turkish troops began their offensive in northeast Syria, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/thousands-flee-dozens-reported-killed-as-turkey-pushes-syria-assault-255067">US President Trump said</a> he hopes he can mediate between Turkey and Kurds.

"We have one of three choices: Send in thousands of troops and win militarily, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkey-faces-us-sanctions-from-hell-after-syria-kurd-assault-255061">hit Turkey very hard financially</a> and with sanctions, or mediate a deal between Turkey and the Kurds! the US president said.

On Tuesday, thousands of civilians fled their homes as Turkish troops pounded Kurdish military positions in northeast Syria. According to reports, at least twenty-three fighters with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and six fighters with a Turkish-backed Syrian rebel group were killed in the initial assault launched by Turkish troops.

Trump, however, declared that ISS was defeated "100%" and the US no longer "has any troops in the area under attack by Turkey, in Syria." "We did our job perfectly," the US president added.

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We defeated 100% of the ISIS Caliphate and no longer have any troops in the area under attack by Turkey, in Syria. We did our job perfectly! Now Turkey is attacking the Kurds, who have been fighting each other for 200 years....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1182387197066039298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
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"Now Turkey is attacking the Kurds, who have been fighting each other for 200 years," he said.

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....We have one of three choices: Send in thousands of troops and win Militarily, hit Turkey very hard Financially and with Sanctions, or mediate a deal between Turkey and the Kurds!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1182387198164946944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The civilian exodus from the area around the military operation has been immense. The International Rescue Committee said 64,000 people in Syria have fled since the campaign began on Wednesday&nbsp;with Ras al-Ain and Darbasiya towns which fall directly in the assault zone practically deserted.

The rescue committee said Turkish forces had already seized two villages near Ras al-Ain and five near the town of Tel Abyad. Meanwhile, Turkey has said it intends to create a "safe zone" for the return of millions of refugees to Syria even as fighting continues in the region.

Turkey President Erdogan defiantly declared on Thursday that he would permit Syrian refugees in Turkey to move to Europe if EU countries described his forces' move as an occupation. Turkey is reportedly holding at least 3.6 million people who have fled the conflict in Syria.&nbsp;

Although Turkey brands the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia as terrorists because of their ties to militants who have waged an insurgency in Turkey, the US Congress feels Kurds have been instrumental in defeating the Islamic State terrorists.

As Turkish troops began their offensive in northeast Syria, US President Trump said he hopes he can mediate between Turkey and Kurds. "We have one of three choices: Send in thousands of troops and win militarily, hit Turkey very hard financially and with sanctions, or mediate a deal between Turkey and the Kurds!

As Turkish troops began their offensive in northeast Syria, US President Trump said he hopes he can mediate between Turkey and Kurds. "We have one of three choices: Send in thousands of troops and win militarily, hit Turkey very hard financially and with sanctions, or mediate a deal between Turkey and the Kurds! the US president said. On Tuesday, thousands of civilians fled their homes as Turkish troops pounded Kurdish military positions in northeast Syria. According to reports, at least twenty-three fighters with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and six fighters with a Turkish-backed Syrian rebel group were killed in the initial assault launched by Turkish troops. Trump, however, declared that ISS was defeated "100%" and the US no longer "has any troops in the area under attack by Turkey, in Syria." "We did our job perfectly," the US president added. We defeated 100% of the ISIS Caliphate and no longer have any troops in the area under attack by Turkey, in Syria. We did our job perfectly! Now Turkey is attacking the Kurds, who have been fighting each other for 200 years.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2019 × "Now Turkey is attacking the Kurds, who have been fighting each other for 200 years," he said. ....We have one of three choices: Send in thousands of troops and win Militarily, hit Turkey very hard Financially and with Sanctions, or mediate a deal between Turkey and the Kurds! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2019 × Watch Video: The civilian exodus from the area around the military operation has been immense. The International Rescue Committee said 64,000 people in Syria have fled since the campaign began on Wednesday with Ras al-Ain and Darbasiya towns which fall directly in the assault zone practically deserted. The rescue committee said Turkish forces had already seized two villages near Ras al-Ain and five near the town of Tel Abyad. Meanwhile, Turkey has said it intends to create a "safe zone" for the return of millions of refugees to Syria even as fighting continues in the region. Turkey President Erdogan defiantly declared on Thursday that he would permit Syrian refugees in Turkey to move to Europe if EU countries described his forces' move as an occupation. Turkey is reportedly holding at least 3.6 million people who have fled the conflict in Syria. Although Turkey brands the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia as terrorists because of their ties to militants who have waged an insurgency in Turkey, the US Congress feels Kurds have been instrumental in defeating the Islamic State terrorists.

Mediating deal between Turkey and the Kurds one of the choices: Trump

By James L Gelvin

Turkey’s attack on Kurdish-run territory in northern Syria will likely snuff out a radical experiment in self-government that is unlike anything I have seen in more than 30 years studying the Middle East.

In a surprise October 6 statement, President Donald Trump announced the US would withdraw its troops from northern Syria.

Approximately 1,000 American soldiers had been stationed in that region as a buffer separating Kurdish forces – who had been working with the Americans in the fight against the Islamic State – from Turkish troops. Turkey feared that the Syrian Kurds would link up with Turkey’s Kurdish minority who have demanded autonomy or independence.

On October 9, the Turkish military began its assault, pummeling Kurdish-held territory with artillery and airstrikes. Kurds are rapidly evacuating the region and at least 24 people have been killed in northern Syria. Retaliatory strikes from Syria have killed civilians in southern Turkey.

According to Turkish President Recep Erdogan, Turkey’s goal is to create a buffer zone separating Syria’s Kurds from the Turkish border.

But his country’s attack will do much more than that. If successful, it will destroy the most full-fledged democracy the Middle East has yet to see.

A different way to govern

The Kurds call their autonomous region in Syria “Rojava,” meaning “the land where the sunsets.”

Kurdish-led forces took possession of this swath of territory in northern and eastern Syria from direct Syrian government control in 2012. Then they successfully defended it against the Islamic State.

Kurdish Syria is a small portion of a territory, known as Kurdistan, that includes parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. Kurdistan is home to approximately 25-35 million Kurds, a cultural and ethnic minority in the Middle East.

The key to understanding the Rojava project, as those involved often refer to it, is the notion of “confederalism.” In this form of government, local units – in this case, Kurdistan’s “autonomous regions” – come together in a federation yet retain a great deal of autonomy.

Because sovereign power belongs to the local units and not to a central government, Kurdish confederalism differs from an American-style federal system.

The Kurds are so serious about devolving power to the local level that Rojava’s charter requires each of its three regions to have its own flag. And within each region, local elected councils are in charge. They organize garbage collection, adjudicate disputes and manage public health and safety.

Confederalism sets the Kurds apart from almost every other government in the Middle East.&nbsp;

Across the region, power is concentrated at the top. Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, is an authoritarian leader who has ruthlessly crushed his opponents in the country’s eight-year civil war. Egypt has a military government. Saudi Arabia has a king.

But Rojava would be an exceptional society almost anywhere.

Rojava’s charter guarantees freedom of expression and assembly and equality of all religious communities and languages. It mandates direct democracy, term limits and gender equality. Men and women share every position in government. Kurdish women have fought the Islamic State in Syria as soldiers in an all-female militia.

In a region where religion and politics are often intertwined, the Kurdish state is secular. Religious leaders cannot serve in politics. Rojava’s charter even affirms the right of all citizens to a healthy environment.

Surrounding countries, including Syria, also have constitutions with eloquent endorsements of political and human rights.

In Rojava, however, the constitution is actually in effect. Syrian Kurds have realized the dream of the 2010-2011 pro-democracy uprisings across the Arab world.

Rojava’s downsides

Internal cleavages in Syria’s Kurdish community undermine the Rojava project – namely, the perpetual jockeying for power between rival Kurdish clans and the struggle for preeminence among Turkish, Syrian and Iraqi Kurds.

The Kurds also have a troubled relationship with Syria’s Arabs and other groups. Beginning in the 1960s, the Syrian government began moving other populations to Kurdish territory to challenge Kurdish dominance there, sparking Kurdish resentment.

The devastation wrought by the Islamic State – such as the mass murder of the Yazidis, a religious minority within the Kurdish community, and sexual enslavement of their women – further fueled this resentment.

There have been numerous reports of Kurdish soldiers taking violent revenge against captured Islamic State members, alleged collaborators and even entire villages suspected of aiding the Islamic State enemy.

The Kurdish region of Syria also has some politically problematic origins.

The Syrian-Kurdish Democratic Union Party – Rojava’s leading political party – played an outsized role in the creation of Rojava. The party is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, a far-left militant group that has fought against the Turkish government, first for the independence of Kurds from Turkey in the 1980s and 1990s, then – in the early 2000s – for their autonomy within Turkish borders.

Many Kurds in Rojava consider PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan a national hero. It was Ocalan who came up with the idea of confederalism in the first place, back in 2005.

But both Turkey and the United States consider the PKK to be a terrorist organization. The PKK is currently conducting an insurgency against the Turkish government.

Danger ahead 
 
The Rojava project is now in imminent peril.

Even if Turkey hadn’t launched its military offensive, Rojava would probably still have a tenuous future.

The Syrian-Kurdish Democratic Union Party has refused to take sides in the Syrian civil war. Its vision, now realized, lay elsewhere.

Nevertheless, it is doubtful that the Syrian regime will reward Kurds for their relative impartiality during the civil war. Nor is it likely that the regime will reward them for limiting their goal to autonomy instead of independence.

The reason: Rojava sits atop Syria’s largest oil fields.

(James L Gelvin is Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, University of California, Los Angeles)

(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/turkish-attack-on-syria-endangers-a-remarkable-democratic-experiment-by-the-kurds-125105">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) &nbsp; 
&nbsp;

By James L Gelvin Turkey’s attack on Kurdish-run territory in northern Syria will likely snuff out a radical experiment in self-government that is unlike anything I have seen in more than 30 years studying the Middle East.

By James L Gelvin Turkey’s attack on Kurdish-run territory in northern Syria will likely snuff out a radical experiment in self-government that is unlike anything I have seen in more than 30 years studying the Middle East. In a surprise October 6 statement, President Donald Trump announced the US would withdraw its troops from northern Syria. Approximately 1,000 American soldiers had been stationed in that region as a buffer separating Kurdish forces – who had been working with the Americans in the fight against the Islamic State – from Turkish troops. Turkey feared that the Syrian Kurds would link up with Turkey’s Kurdish minority who have demanded autonomy or independence. On October 9, the Turkish military began its assault, pummeling Kurdish-held territory with artillery and airstrikes. Kurds are rapidly evacuating the region and at least 24 people have been killed in northern Syria. Retaliatory strikes from Syria have killed civilians in southern Turkey. According to Turkish President Recep Erdogan, Turkey’s goal is to create a buffer zone separating Syria’s Kurds from the Turkish border. But his country’s attack will do much more than that. If successful, it will destroy the most full-fledged democracy the Middle East has yet to see. A different way to govern The Kurds call their autonomous region in Syria “Rojava,” meaning “the land where the sunsets.” Kurdish-led forces took possession of this swath of territory in northern and eastern Syria from direct Syrian government control in 2012. Then they successfully defended it against the Islamic State. Kurdish Syria is a small portion of a territory, known as Kurdistan, that includes parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. Kurdistan is home to approximately 25-35 million Kurds, a cultural and ethnic minority in the Middle East. The key to understanding the Rojava project, as those involved often refer to it, is the notion of “confederalism.” In this form of government, local units – in this case, Kurdistan’s “autonomous regions” – come together in a federation yet retain a great deal of autonomy. Because sovereign power belongs to the local units and not to a central government, Kurdish confederalism differs from an American-style federal system. The Kurds are so serious about devolving power to the local level that Rojava’s charter requires each of its three regions to have its own flag. And within each region, local elected councils are in charge. They organize garbage collection, adjudicate disputes and manage public health and safety. Confederalism sets the Kurds apart from almost every other government in the Middle East. Across the region, power is concentrated at the top. Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, is an authoritarian leader who has ruthlessly crushed his opponents in the country’s eight-year civil war. Egypt has a military government. Saudi Arabia has a king. But Rojava would be an exceptional society almost anywhere. Rojava’s charter guarantees freedom of expression and assembly and equality of all religious communities and languages. It mandates direct democracy, term limits and gender equality. Men and women share every position in government. Kurdish women have fought the Islamic State in Syria as soldiers in an all-female militia. In a region where religion and politics are often intertwined, the Kurdish state is secular. Religious leaders cannot serve in politics. Rojava’s charter even affirms the right of all citizens to a healthy environment. Surrounding countries, including Syria, also have constitutions with eloquent endorsements of political and human rights. In Rojava, however, the constitution is actually in effect. Syrian Kurds have realized the dream of the 2010-2011 pro-democracy uprisings across the Arab world. Rojava’s downsides Internal cleavages in Syria’s Kurdish community undermine the Rojava project – namely, the perpetual jockeying for power between rival Kurdish clans and the struggle for preeminence among Turkish, Syrian and Iraqi Kurds. The Kurds also have a troubled relationship with Syria’s Arabs and other groups. Beginning in the 1960s, the Syrian government began moving other populations to Kurdish territory to challenge Kurdish dominance there, sparking Kurdish resentment. The devastation wrought by the Islamic State – such as the mass murder of the Yazidis, a religious minority within the Kurdish community, and sexual enslavement of their women – further fueled this resentment. There have been numerous reports of Kurdish soldiers taking violent revenge against captured Islamic State members, alleged collaborators and even entire villages suspected of aiding the Islamic State enemy. The Kurdish region of Syria also has some politically problematic origins. The Syrian-Kurdish Democratic Union Party – Rojava’s leading political party – played an outsized role in the creation of Rojava. The party is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, a far-left militant group that has fought against the Turkish government, first for the independence of Kurds from Turkey in the 1980s and 1990s, then – in the early 2000s – for their autonomy within Turkish borders. Many Kurds in Rojava consider PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan a national hero. It was Ocalan who came up with the idea of confederalism in the first place, back in 2005. But both Turkey and the United States consider the PKK to be a terrorist organization. The PKK is currently conducting an insurgency against the Turkish government. Danger ahead The Rojava project is now in imminent peril. Even if Turkey hadn’t launched its military offensive, Rojava would probably still have a tenuous future. The Syrian-Kurdish Democratic Union Party has refused to take sides in the Syrian civil war. Its vision, now realized, lay elsewhere. Nevertheless, it is doubtful that the Syrian regime will reward Kurds for their relative impartiality during the civil war. Nor is it likely that the regime will reward them for limiting their goal to autonomy instead of independence. The reason: Rojava sits atop Syria’s largest oil fields. (James L Gelvin is Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, University of California, Los Angeles) (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Turkish attack on Syria endangers a remarkable democratic experiment by the Kurds

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that particularly dangerous <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/syria-kurds-say-two-civilians-killed-in-turkish-border-attack-254827">Islamic State group fighters</a> held by the Kurds in northeast Syria had been removed to US custody ahead of a Turkish attack Wednesday.

While Trump did not give any specifics, the Washington Post reported that <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkish-air-strikes-hit-northeast-syria-near-border-monitor-254813">US forces had gained control</a> of two notorious British fighters dubbed "The Beatles" and moved them to Iraq.

CNN also reported that the US military had taken custody of the two fighters, while ABC said they had been transferred to a safe location.

"We are taking some of the most dangerous ISIS fighters out and we're putting them in different locations where it's secure," Trump said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.

"We have taken a certain number of ISIS fighters who are particularly bad and we've wanted to make sure nothing happened to them with respect to getting out," he said.

Watch Video:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-time-for-india-to-expose-turkeys-action-against-kurds-254844/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The move addressed one of the most worrisome issues of Trump's green light to Turkey to invade Syria, where the Kurds, a longtime US battlefield partner, are viewed as a terror threat by Ankara, a NATO ally of Washington.&nbsp;

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have been holding prisoner some 10,000 captured Islamic State group fighters.

Many have feared the Turkish attack would lead to them escaping and reconstituting the group.

The SDF-held fighters include around 2,000 of foreign nationality, many of them from European countries that have refused to take them back.

The two "Beatles" reportedly in US custody, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, were part of an extremely violent all-British four-man cell that kidnapped and tortured foreigners, including journalists, at the height of Islamic State group's power in Syria and Iraq.

One other was killed in a drone strike and the fourth is imprisoned on terror charges in Turkey.

Trump said the Kurds are still guarding many of the Islamic State group terrorists, but also said Turkey will be responsible for them.

"If the Kurds don't watch, Turkey will watch. They don't want those people out any more than we do," he said. 
&nbsp;

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that particularly dangerous Islamic State group fighters held by the Kurds in northeast Syria had been removed to US custody ahead of a Turkish attack Wednesday.

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that particularly dangerous Islamic State group fighters held by the Kurds in northeast Syria had been removed to US custody ahead of a Turkish attack Wednesday. While Trump did not give any specifics, the Washington Post reported that US forces had gained control of two notorious British fighters dubbed "The Beatles" and moved them to Iraq. CNN also reported that the US military had taken custody of the two fighters, while ABC said they had been transferred to a safe location. "We are taking some of the most dangerous ISIS fighters out and we're putting them in different locations where it's secure," Trump said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group. "We have taken a certain number of ISIS fighters who are particularly bad and we've wanted to make sure nothing happened to them with respect to getting out," he said. Watch Video: The move addressed one of the most worrisome issues of Trump's green light to Turkey to invade Syria, where the Kurds, a longtime US battlefield partner, are viewed as a terror threat by Ankara, a NATO ally of Washington. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have been holding prisoner some 10,000 captured Islamic State group fighters. Many have feared the Turkish attack would lead to them escaping and reconstituting the group. The SDF-held fighters include around 2,000 of foreign nationality, many of them from European countries that have refused to take them back. The two "Beatles" reportedly in US custody, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, were part of an extremely violent all-British four-man cell that kidnapped and tortured foreigners, including journalists, at the height of Islamic State group's power in Syria and Iraq. One other was killed in a drone strike and the fourth is imprisoned on terror charges in Turkey. Trump said the Kurds are still guarding many of the Islamic State group terrorists, but also said Turkey will be responsible for them. "If the Kurds don't watch, Turkey will watch. They don't want those people out any more than we do," he said.

We have taken most dangerous Islamic State fighters in Syria: Trump

Explainer: Turkey set to redraw map of Syrian war once more

An attacker allegedly "exposed to IS radicalism" stabbed Indonesian security minister Wiranto as he was stepping into a vehicle Thursday, leaving two deep wounds, police said.

"Someone approached and attacked him. The local police chief and Pak (Mr) Wiranto were injured," National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said of the attack in Pandeglang on Java island, adding that a man and a woman had been arrested.

Television images showed security officers wrestling the couple to the ground outside a local university after the attack on the 72-year-old Wiranto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

Berkah Hospital spokesman Firmansyah said the former military general suffered "two deep wounds", but was conscious and in stable condition, adding that he would be rushed to the capital Jakarta and may need surgery.

An attacker allegedly "exposed to IS radicalism" stabbed Indonesian security minister Wiranto as he was stepping into a vehicle Thursday, leaving two deep wounds, police said.

An attacker allegedly "exposed to IS radicalism" stabbed Indonesian security minister Wiranto as he was stepping into a vehicle Thursday, leaving two deep wounds, police said. "Someone approached and attacked him. The local police chief and Pak (Mr) Wiranto were injured," National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said of the attack in Pandeglang on Java island, adding that a man and a woman had been arrested. Television images showed security officers wrestling the couple to the ground outside a local university after the attack on the 72-year-old Wiranto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. Berkah Hospital spokesman Firmansyah said the former military general suffered "two deep wounds", but was conscious and in stable condition, adding that he would be rushed to the capital Jakarta and may need surgery.

Suspected Islamic State terrorist stabs Indonesian security minister

United States-backed Kurdish fighters have halted operations for now against <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-nations-security-council-head-appeals-to-turkey-for-restraint-in-syria-254812">Islamic State in Syria</a> as Turkey launches a military offensive in Syria's northeast, two US&nbsp;officials and a Kurdish military source said on Wednesday.

"The SDF stopped the anti-ISIS operations because it's impossible to carry out any operation while you are being threatened by a large army right on the northern border," the Kurdish military source said.

One of the US&nbsp;officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the suspension also impacted US&nbsp;training of stabilisation forces in Syria.

It was unclear whether the pause affected every aspect of US-partnered operations against Islamic State or whether there might be exceptions. The US&nbsp;military was not immediately available for comment.

But any suspension in such activities would represent a direct setback to the central US&nbsp;goal of helping the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) secure territory seized from Islamic State.

It would also show how the Kurdish-led SDF are rapidly shifting their focus to the fight against Turkey - at the cost of preparations to prevent Islamic State's resurgence.

Turkish warplanes and artillery struck Kurdish militia positions in several towns on Wednesday after the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/european-union-urges-turkey-to-halt-syria-offensive-will-not-pay-for-safe-zone-254817">United States this week pulled back its troops from the Turkey-Syria</a> frontier following a decision by US&nbsp;President Donald Trump.

Trump's critics say his move cleared the way for the Turkish operation and amounted to a betrayal of America's allies, the Kurds. US&nbsp;officials say the president felt US&nbsp;troops should not be caught in the middle of that fight, and Trump says he is fulfilling promises to withdraw the United States from “endless” Middle East wars.

The Kurdish fighters, considered terrorists by Turkey, have described the US&nbsp;decision as "a stab in the back". Spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG militia, the SDF has been the backbone of the US-led campaign against Islamic State.

The US&nbsp;military had hoped to train SDF and other groups to create a stabilization force of 50,000-60,000 fighters to help prevent a resurgence of Islamic State. As of last month, the US&nbsp;military estimated it was perhaps about halfway toward that goal.

A third official told Reuters that the SDF was still guarding prisons holding some 11,000 captured Islamic State fighters, but noted that a small number of SDF forces had relocated ahead of the expected Turkish offensive.

US&nbsp;officials have long feared that the SDF would be unable to continue guarding the facilities in the event of a major Turkish incursion into Syria.

Still, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkish-air-strikes-hit-northeast-syria-near-border-monitor-254813">Islamic State remnants could force the SDF to battle it as well.</a>

Jennifer Cafarella, research director at the Institute for the Study of War think-tank in Washington, said the SDF faced the likely prospect of having to fight on two fronts: against Turkish forces and remnants of Islamic State simultaneously.

"ISIS leader (Abu Bakr) Baghdadi is undoubtedly prepared for this moment," Cafarella said, using an acronym for Islamic State.

At the height of its power, Islamic State ruled over millions of people in territory running from northern Syria through cities and towns along the Tigris and Euphrates valleys to the outskirts of Baghdad in neighbouring Iraq.

But the fall in 2017 of Mosul and Raqqa, its strongholds in Iraq and Syria respectively, stripped Baghdadi of the trappings of a caliph and turned him into a fugitive thought to be moving along the desert border between Iraq and Syria.

US&nbsp;officials have been warning for months against losing focus on Islamic State, which they believe could again become a potent insurgency.

United States-backed Kurdish fighters have halted operations for now against Islamic State in Syria as Turkey launches a military offensive in Syria's northeast, two US officials and a Kurdish military source said on Wednesday.

United States-backed Kurdish fighters have halted operations for now against Islamic State in Syria as Turkey launches a military offensive in Syria's northeast, two US officials and a Kurdish military source said on Wednesday. "The SDF stopped the anti-ISIS operations because it's impossible to carry out any operation while you are being threatened by a large army right on the northern border," the Kurdish military source said. One of the US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the suspension also impacted US training of stabilisation forces in Syria. It was unclear whether the pause affected every aspect of US-partnered operations against Islamic State or whether there might be exceptions. The US military was not immediately available for comment. But any suspension in such activities would represent a direct setback to the central US goal of helping the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) secure territory seized from Islamic State. It would also show how the Kurdish-led SDF are rapidly shifting their focus to the fight against Turkey - at the cost of preparations to prevent Islamic State's resurgence. Turkish warplanes and artillery struck Kurdish militia positions in several towns on Wednesday after the United States this week pulled back its troops from the Turkey-Syria frontier following a decision by US President Donald Trump. Trump's critics say his move cleared the way for the Turkish operation and amounted to a betrayal of America's allies, the Kurds. US officials say the president felt US troops should not be caught in the middle of that fight, and Trump says he is fulfilling promises to withdraw the United States from “endless” Middle East wars. The Kurdish fighters, considered terrorists by Turkey, have described the US decision as "a stab in the back". Spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG militia, the SDF has been the backbone of the US-led campaign against Islamic State. The US military had hoped to train SDF and other groups to create a stabilization force of 50,000-60,000 fighters to help prevent a resurgence of Islamic State. As of last month, the US military estimated it was perhaps about halfway toward that goal. A third official told Reuters that the SDF was still guarding prisons holding some 11,000 captured Islamic State fighters, but noted that a small number of SDF forces had relocated ahead of the expected Turkish offensive. US officials have long feared that the SDF would be unable to continue guarding the facilities in the event of a major Turkish incursion into Syria. Still, Islamic State remnants could force the SDF to battle it as well. Jennifer Cafarella, research director at the Institute for the Study of War think-tank in Washington, said the SDF faced the likely prospect of having to fight on two fronts: against Turkish forces and remnants of Islamic State simultaneously. "ISIS leader (Abu Bakr) Baghdadi is undoubtedly prepared for this moment," Cafarella said, using an acronym for Islamic State. At the height of its power, Islamic State ruled over millions of people in territory running from northern Syria through cities and towns along the Tigris and Euphrates valleys to the outskirts of Baghdad in neighbouring Iraq. But the fall in 2017 of Mosul and Raqqa, its strongholds in Iraq and Syria respectively, stripped Baghdadi of the trappings of a caliph and turned him into a fugitive thought to be moving along the desert border between Iraq and Syria. US officials have been warning for months against losing focus on Islamic State, which they believe could again become a potent insurgency.

United States backed Syrian forces halt counter-Islamic State operations

Turkey's military struck the Syrian-Iraqi border to prevent <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/we-may-be-in-process-of-leaving-syria-but-in-no-way-have-we-abandoned-the-kurds-trump-254577">Kurdish forces using the route</a> to reinforce northeast Syria, as Ankara prepared to attack following a surprise US troop pullback, Turkish officials said on Tuesday.

Turkey said it is ready to advance into northeast Syria now that the United States has begun withdrawing troops from the Turkey-Syria frontier in an abrupt policy shift by US President Donald Trump widely criticised in Washington as a betrayal of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/as-turkey-united-states-spar-over-syrian-operation-kurdish-forces-feel-vulnerable-254450">America's allies, the Kurds</a>.

As Turkish troops finalise plans, the government's scheme to move millions of refugees into conquered territory in northeast Syria is alarming some Western allies as much as the military operation itself.

Watch Video:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-prez-warned-turkey-against-hurting-us-soldiers-during-their-operation-254364/embed" width="560" height="350" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" autoplay=1 allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

For Turkey, which views Kurdish YPG fighters in northeast Syria as terrorists because of their ties to militants waging an insurgency inside Turkey, an influx of non-Kurdish Syrians would help it secure a buffer against its main security threat.

The US move will leave Kurdish-led forces long allied to Washington vulnerable to attack by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will visit the United States on November 13 at Trump's invitation, a White House spokesman said. On Monday, Erdogan said US troops had started to withdraw after a phone call he had with Trump, adding that talks between Turkish and US officials on the matter would continue.

On Tuesday, a US official said US defense secretary Mark Esper and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff General Mark Milley took part in the phone call, but the official did not provide further details.

"Given the likely military issues raised on the call between (Trump) and President Erdogan, Secretary of Defense Esper and Chairman Milley participated on the call," said the official.

Earlier, the Pentagon said Esper and Milley had been consulted by Trump "over the last several days" about a possible Turkish strike in Syria.

"Unfortunately, Turkey has chosen to act unilaterally. As a result we have moved the US forces in northern Syria out of the path of potential Turkish incursion to ensure their safety," US Defense Department spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement.

A Turkish security official said one of the main goals of the overnight strike was to cut off a transit route between Iraq and Syria often used by Kurdish armed groups "before the operation in Syria".

It was unclear what damage was done or whether there were casualties. Details of the strike, a joint operation by Turkey's intelligence service and the military, were hazy. One official described them as an air strike, while the other said the site was made "unusable through various means".

Trump denied he had abandoned the Kurdish forces, the most effective US partners in fighting Islamic State(IS) in Syria. But he praised Turkey as a trade partner, in a softening of tone hours after threatening to "totally destroy" Turkey's economy if it acted "off limits" in Syria.

Amid deepening humanitarian concerns, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged all parties in northeast Syria to exercise maximum restraint and protect civilians.

Signalling a further potential shift in the region's power balance, the Kurdish-led forces said they might start talks with the Syrian government and Russia to fill a security vacuum in the event of a full US withdrawal.

Turkey sought to underscore its determination to act. "The TSK will never tolerate the establishment of a terror corridor on our borders. All preparations for the operation have been completed," the Turkish Defence Ministry said. 
&nbsp;

Turkey's military struck the Syrian-Iraqi border to prevent Kurdish forces using the route to reinforce northeast Syria, as Ankara prepared to attack following a surprise US troop pullback, Turkish officials said on Tuesday.

Turkey's military struck the Syrian-Iraqi border to prevent Kurdish forces using the route to reinforce northeast Syria, as Ankara prepared to attack following a surprise US troop pullback, Turkish officials said on Tuesday. Turkey said it is ready to advance into northeast Syria now that the United States has begun withdrawing troops from the Turkey-Syria frontier in an abrupt policy shift by US President Donald Trump widely criticised in Washington as a betrayal of America's allies, the Kurds. As Turkish troops finalise plans, the government's scheme to move millions of refugees into conquered territory in northeast Syria is alarming some Western allies as much as the military operation itself. Watch Video: For Turkey, which views Kurdish YPG fighters in northeast Syria as terrorists because of their ties to militants waging an insurgency inside Turkey, an influx of non-Kurdish Syrians would help it secure a buffer against its main security threat. The US move will leave Kurdish-led forces long allied to Washington vulnerable to attack by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will visit the United States on November 13 at Trump's invitation, a White House spokesman said. On Monday, Erdogan said US troops had started to withdraw after a phone call he had with Trump, adding that talks between Turkish and US officials on the matter would continue. On Tuesday, a US official said US defense secretary Mark Esper and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff General Mark Milley took part in the phone call, but the official did not provide further details. "Given the likely military issues raised on the call between (Trump) and President Erdogan, Secretary of Defense Esper and Chairman Milley participated on the call," said the official. Earlier, the Pentagon said Esper and Milley had been consulted by Trump "over the last several days" about a possible Turkish strike in Syria. "Unfortunately, Turkey has chosen to act unilaterally. As a result we have moved the US forces in northern Syria out of the path of potential Turkish incursion to ensure their safety," US Defense Department spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement. A Turkish security official said one of the main goals of the overnight strike was to cut off a transit route between Iraq and Syria often used by Kurdish armed groups "before the operation in Syria". It was unclear what damage was done or whether there were casualties. Details of the strike, a joint operation by Turkey's intelligence service and the military, were hazy. One official described them as an air strike, while the other said the site was made "unusable through various means". Trump denied he had abandoned the Kurdish forces, the most effective US partners in fighting Islamic State(IS) in Syria. But he praised Turkey as a trade partner, in a softening of tone hours after threatening to "totally destroy" Turkey's economy if it acted "off limits" in Syria. Amid deepening humanitarian concerns, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged all parties in northeast Syria to exercise maximum restraint and protect civilians. Signalling a further potential shift in the region's power balance, the Kurdish-led forces said they might start talks with the Syrian government and Russia to fill a security vacuum in the event of a full US withdrawal. Turkey sought to underscore its determination to act. "The TSK will never tolerate the establishment of a terror corridor on our borders. All preparations for the operation have been completed," the Turkish Defence Ministry said.

Turkey strikes in Syrian-Iraqi border ahead of planned offensive

Iran's top diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif told his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in a phone call that Tehran is opposed to <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/disaster-in-the-making-top-republicans-outraged-over-trump-pullback-in-syria-254361">military action in Syria</a>, the foreign ministry said.

"Zarif voiced opposition to military action" and "urged respect for Syria's territorial integrity and national sovereignty," Zarif was quoted as saying in a statement issued late Monday.

The Iranian foreign minister also "stressed the need for the fight against terrorism and for the establishment of stability and security in Syria".

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Turkey was poised to launch a military operation against Kurdish forces in northern Syria, after US President Donald Trump gave him the green light.

Trump's decision to withdraw US troops from the region has faced strong criticism in the US, including from his own allies who have accused him of turning his back on Kurds who took heavy casualties in the US-backed campaign against the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria.

In their phone call, Zarif told Cavusoglu that the Adana agreement was "the best approach for Syria and Turkey and for addressing their concerns".

Ankara and Damascus signed the agreement in 1998 to ease tensions after Turkey threatened Syria with military action if it did not expel Turkish-Kurdish rebel leader Abdallah Ocalan from its soil.

For his part, Cavusoglu said the Turkish military operation in northeastern Syria "would be temporary", according to the statement from the Iranian foreign ministry.

Erdogan has expressed Ankara's determination to clear the Syrian border area east of the Euphrates river of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

Turkey says the YPG is a "terrorist offshoot" of Ocalan's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The United States worked closely with the YPG to recapture swathes of territory from IS.

Iran's top diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif told his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in a phone call that Tehran is opposed to military action in Syria, the foreign ministry said.

Iran's top diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif told his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in a phone call that Tehran is opposed to military action in Syria, the foreign ministry said. "Zarif voiced opposition to military action" and "urged respect for Syria's territorial integrity and national sovereignty," Zarif was quoted as saying in a statement issued late Monday. The Iranian foreign minister also "stressed the need for the fight against terrorism and for the establishment of stability and security in Syria". President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Turkey was poised to launch a military operation against Kurdish forces in northern Syria, after US President Donald Trump gave him the green light. Trump's decision to withdraw US troops from the region has faced strong criticism in the US, including from his own allies who have accused him of turning his back on Kurds who took heavy casualties in the US-backed campaign against the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria. In their phone call, Zarif told Cavusoglu that the Adana agreement was "the best approach for Syria and Turkey and for addressing their concerns". Ankara and Damascus signed the agreement in 1998 to ease tensions after Turkey threatened Syria with military action if it did not expel Turkish-Kurdish rebel leader Abdallah Ocalan from its soil. For his part, Cavusoglu said the Turkish military operation in northeastern Syria "would be temporary", according to the statement from the Iranian foreign ministry. Erdogan has expressed Ankara's determination to clear the Syrian border area east of the Euphrates river of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). Turkey says the YPG is a "terrorist offshoot" of Ocalan's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The United States worked closely with the YPG to recapture swathes of territory from IS.

Iran opposes Syria military action, Javad Zarif tells Turkey

Turkey will mount a military operation in northeast Syria, it said on Saturday, after accusing Washington of not doing enough to expel Syrian Kurdish fighters from its border.

The air and ground operation east of the Euphrates river in Syria could start at any time, President Tayyip Erdogan said.

The US-backed force which controls the region, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) led by the Kurdish YPG militia, said it wanted stability but vowed to respond to any attack.

"We will not hesitate to turn any unprovoked attack by Turkey into an all-out war on the entire border to defend ourselves and our people," SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said.

NATO allies Ankara and Washington agreed in August to set up a zone in northeast Syria along the border with Turkey, which considers the YPG a terrorist organisation linked to Kurdish insurgents at home.

Turkey has accused the United States, which helped the YPG defeat Islamic State militants in Syria, of moving too slowly to create the zone. They are at odds over how far it should extend into Syria and who should control it.

Ankara wants the zone to stretch 30 km (19 miles) inside Syria and to be cleared of YPG fighters. It has repeatedly warned of launching an offensive on its own into northeast Syria, where U.S. forces are stationed alongside the SDF.

Erdogan said Turkey aimed to "water the east of Euphrates with fountains of peace" and settle refugees there.

"We gave all warnings to our interlocutors regarding the east of Euphrates and we have acted with sufficient patience," he said at the opening of his AK Party's annual camp.

"We've made our preparations, we've completed our operation plans, given the necessary instructions." He added that air and ground actions could start "as soon as today or tomorrow".

Turkey's state-owned Anadolu Agency said late on Saturday that nine trucks loaded with armoured vehicles and one bus carrying military personnel had been sent to the border district of Akcakale, located in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa.

The convoy was sent to reinforce military units based on the Syrian border, Anadolu said. It was not immediately clear whether the shipment was in preparation for an incursion.

Refugees

Ankara says it wants to settle up to 2 million Syrian refugees in the zone, nearly halving the number sheltering in Turkey from Syria's more than eight-year conflict.

However, the refugee transfer could face resistance from allies opposed to changing the demographic balance of the area. Kurdish leaders have previously accused Turkey of seeking to resettle mainly Arab Syrians from other parts of the country in their region - which Ankara denies.

U.S. and Turkish troops have so far carried out half a dozen joint air missions over northeast Syria and three land patrols, including one on Friday. Washington deems these "concrete steps" to address Ankara's concerns. Turkey says it is not enough.

"Land patrols, air patrols - we are seeing all of these are fiction," Erdogan said on Saturday.

The SDF, which has said it will pull back up to 14 km (8.7 miles) on some parts of the border, is committed to the agreements under U.S.-Turkish talks and will remain so if "dangerous threats" stop, its spokesman Bali said.

Kurdish commanders have warned that a Turkish border attack would lead to a resurgence of Islamic State militants, from which the SDF seized vast territory in north and east Syria.

"Simply, there will be a big gap in the towns that our forces will withdraw from to go to defend the border, and this will give Daesh the opportunity to return," Bali said.

In recent years, the Turkish military has launched two offensives with its Syrian insurgent allies in the northwest of the country and has forces stationed there.

Turkey's rebel allies pledged on Friday to back an offensive by Ankara east of the Euphrates, blaming the YPG for displacing Arabs from the region.

Turkey will mount a military operation in northeast Syria, it said on Saturday, after accusing Washington of not doing enough to expel Syrian Kurdish fighters from its border.

Turkey will mount a military operation in northeast Syria, it said on Saturday, after accusing Washington of not doing enough to expel Syrian Kurdish fighters from its border. The air and ground operation east of the Euphrates river in Syria could start at any time, President Tayyip Erdogan said. The US-backed force which controls the region, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) led by the Kurdish YPG militia, said it wanted stability but vowed to respond to any attack. "We will not hesitate to turn any unprovoked attack by Turkey into an all-out war on the entire border to defend ourselves and our people," SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said. NATO allies Ankara and Washington agreed in August to set up a zone in northeast Syria along the border with Turkey, which considers the YPG a terrorist organisation linked to Kurdish insurgents at home. Turkey has accused the United States, which helped the YPG defeat Islamic State militants in Syria, of moving too slowly to create the zone. They are at odds over how far it should extend into Syria and who should control it. Ankara wants the zone to stretch 30 km (19 miles) inside Syria and to be cleared of YPG fighters. It has repeatedly warned of launching an offensive on its own into northeast Syria, where U.S. forces are stationed alongside the SDF. Erdogan said Turkey aimed to "water the east of Euphrates with fountains of peace" and settle refugees there. "We gave all warnings to our interlocutors regarding the east of Euphrates and we have acted with sufficient patience," he said at the opening of his AK Party's annual camp. "We've made our preparations, we've completed our operation plans, given the necessary instructions." He added that air and ground actions could start "as soon as today or tomorrow". Turkey's state-owned Anadolu Agency said late on Saturday that nine trucks loaded with armoured vehicles and one bus carrying military personnel had been sent to the border district of Akcakale, located in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa. The convoy was sent to reinforce military units based on the Syrian border, Anadolu said. It was not immediately clear whether the shipment was in preparation for an incursion. Refugees Ankara says it wants to settle up to 2 million Syrian refugees in the zone, nearly halving the number sheltering in Turkey from Syria's more than eight-year conflict. However, the refugee transfer could face resistance from allies opposed to changing the demographic balance of the area. Kurdish leaders have previously accused Turkey of seeking to resettle mainly Arab Syrians from other parts of the country in their region - which Ankara denies. U.S. and Turkish troops have so far carried out half a dozen joint air missions over northeast Syria and three land patrols, including one on Friday. Washington deems these "concrete steps" to address Ankara's concerns. Turkey says it is not enough. "Land patrols, air patrols - we are seeing all of these are fiction," Erdogan said on Saturday. The SDF, which has said it will pull back up to 14 km (8.7 miles) on some parts of the border, is committed to the agreements under U.S.-Turkish talks and will remain so if "dangerous threats" stop, its spokesman Bali said. Kurdish commanders have warned that a Turkish border attack would lead to a resurgence of Islamic State militants, from which the SDF seized vast territory in north and east Syria. "Simply, there will be a big gap in the towns that our forces will withdraw from to go to defend the border, and this will give Daesh the opportunity to return," Bali said. In recent years, the Turkish military has launched two offensives with its Syrian insurgent allies in the northwest of the country and has forces stationed there. Turkey's rebel allies pledged on Friday to back an offensive by Ankara east of the Euphrates, blaming the YPG for displacing Arabs from the region.

Erdogan says Turkey to launch military operation in northeast Syria

Sitting in a wheelchair beside a metal fence in a camp in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-states-says-128000-syrians-subject-to-arbitrary-detention-252917">northern Syria</a>, nine-year-old Ruqaya Mohammad raises a scarf over her face to hide from journalists.

The Egyptian girl lost her left eye, her legs and both her parents during battles against the Islamic State group in their last Syria redoubt in March.

She now lives in a large tent along with 23 other orphaned children of foreign IS fighters in a camp for the displaced in Ain Issa, under the care of older camp residents.

Aged 18 months to 13-years-old, the children were born to parents from Russia, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Tajikistan, Egypt and Iraq.

"Among the children, Ruqaya moves me the most," said Sara al-Abdullah, a 37-year-old who helps look after the orphans.

"She always looks withdrawn, shy, and sad," said the widowed mother of three, one of nine women residents of the Ain Issa camp paid a small fee to help look after the children.

Outside the tent, tiny children's tops and trousers have been slung across the metal fence to dry.

Inside, young boys dip flatbread into bowls of soft aubergine stewed in tomatoes.

A volunteer tries to coax a young child into opening his mouth, while another woman feeds an infant with a milk bottle.

A small boy dashes across the tent and throws himself excitedly into a pile of bedding.

Marred childhood

The volunteers say some of the children are still visibly scarred after living with their late parents under IS.

"They play at shooting each other or planting mines in the earth," Abdallah said.

Clutching bits of wood they pretend are guns, she says they throw themselves into imaginary battles, emulating the cries of IS jihadists.

"All that is ingrained in their heads. There's nothing to help them forget," said Abdallah.

"They don't study, or go and play with the little ones. It's been taken away from them."&nbsp;

IS overran large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014, declaring a "caliphate" and imposing their brutal interpretation of Islam on millions.

US-backed Syrian fighters in March expelled them from their last patch of territory in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz.

After years of leading the fight against the jihadists, Syria's Kurds hold thousands of suspected foreign IS members in detention and camps: men and women, but also some 8,000 children — more than half of whom are under the age of five.

The United Nations says <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/in-syrias-aleppo-reconstruction-makes-slow-start-252744">hundreds of them are unaccompanied</a>.

The 24 orphans in Ain Issa were among the tens of thousands of people to stream out of Baghouz in the last weeks of the battle, after months of food shortages and heavy bombardment.

"They were in a pitiful state. They went to hospital and got better," said Ain Issa camp manager Jalal Iyyaf.

But the camp has received no aid for the orphans and is struggling to provide for them, he said in his office.

"We ask for clothes, food, drink as well as help to rehabilitate them, rid them of IS ideology," he said.

Reading and writing?

Back in the tent, Suad Mohammed Ameen, 20, pulls a T-shirt over a toddler's head.

The children she helps need food and clothes — but also psychological support, she said.

"The toughest part is when they tell me their fathers and mothers were killed in front of them, or how they lost their siblings," she said, a fuchsia pink headscarf framing her face.

To help ease the pain, she has vowed to tell the children stories, and even teach the girls to crochet.

"I promised them that, after everything they'd missed out on, I'd help them catch up on reading and writing," she said.

But Iyyaf, the camp manager, said <a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/aleppo-filmmaker-vows-to-continue-showing-reality-of-syria-252170">the best solution would be for their home countries</a> to take them back.

The Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria have repeatedly called for the foreigners they hold to be repatriated, a request that has largely been met with resistance — except in rare cases, including several orphans.

Alaa Suleiman al-Saleh, 19, another one of the caregivers, also hoped the children would be able to go home.

"The situation in this tent is really difficult," said the young woman, who has been teaching some of the girls to crochet.

"I hope these children will return to their countries so they can catch up on their education and childhood," she said.

Sitting in a wheelchair beside a metal fence in a camp in northern Syria, nine-year-old Ruqaya Mohammad raises a scarf over her face to hide from journalists. The Egyptian girl lost her left eye, her legs and both her parents during battles against the Islamic State group in their last Syria redoubt in March.

Sitting in a wheelchair beside a metal fence in a camp in northern Syria, nine-year-old Ruqaya Mohammad raises a scarf over her face to hide from journalists. The Egyptian girl lost her left eye, her legs and both her parents during battles against the Islamic State group in their last Syria redoubt in March. She now lives in a large tent along with 23 other orphaned children of foreign IS fighters in a camp for the displaced in Ain Issa, under the care of older camp residents. Aged 18 months to 13-years-old, the children were born to parents from Russia, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Tajikistan, Egypt and Iraq. "Among the children, Ruqaya moves me the most," said Sara al-Abdullah, a 37-year-old who helps look after the orphans. "She always looks withdrawn, shy, and sad," said the widowed mother of three, one of nine women residents of the Ain Issa camp paid a small fee to help look after the children. Outside the tent, tiny children's tops and trousers have been slung across the metal fence to dry. Inside, young boys dip flatbread into bowls of soft aubergine stewed in tomatoes. A volunteer tries to coax a young child into opening his mouth, while another woman feeds an infant with a milk bottle. A small boy dashes across the tent and throws himself excitedly into a pile of bedding. Marred childhood The volunteers say some of the children are still visibly scarred after living with their late parents under IS. "They play at shooting each other or planting mines in the earth," Abdallah said. Clutching bits of wood they pretend are guns, she says they throw themselves into imaginary battles, emulating the cries of IS jihadists. "All that is ingrained in their heads. There's nothing to help them forget," said Abdallah. "They don't study, or go and play with the little ones. It's been taken away from them." IS overran large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014, declaring a "caliphate" and imposing their brutal interpretation of Islam on millions. US-backed Syrian fighters in March expelled them from their last patch of territory in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz. After years of leading the fight against the jihadists, Syria's Kurds hold thousands of suspected foreign IS members in detention and camps: men and women, but also some 8,000 children — more than half of whom are under the age of five. The United Nations says hundreds of them are unaccompanied. The 24 orphans in Ain Issa were among the tens of thousands of people to stream out of Baghouz in the last weeks of the battle, after months of food shortages and heavy bombardment. "They were in a pitiful state. They went to hospital and got better," said Ain Issa camp manager Jalal Iyyaf. But the camp has received no aid for the orphans and is struggling to provide for them, he said in his office. "We ask for clothes, food, drink as well as help to rehabilitate them, rid them of IS ideology," he said. Reading and writing? Back in the tent, Suad Mohammed Ameen, 20, pulls a T-shirt over a toddler's head. The children she helps need food and clothes — but also psychological support, she said. "The toughest part is when they tell me their fathers and mothers were killed in front of them, or how they lost their siblings," she said, a fuchsia pink headscarf framing her face. To help ease the pain, she has vowed to tell the children stories, and even teach the girls to crochet. "I promised them that, after everything they'd missed out on, I'd help them catch up on reading and writing," she said. But Iyyaf, the camp manager, said the best solution would be for their home countries to take them back. The Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria have repeatedly called for the foreigners they hold to be repatriated, a request that has largely been met with resistance — except in rare cases, including several orphans. Alaa Suleiman al-Saleh, 19, another one of the caregivers, also hoped the children would be able to go home. "The situation in this tent is really difficult," said the young woman, who has been teaching some of the girls to crochet. "I hope these children will return to their countries so they can catch up on their education and childhood," she said.

In Syria camp, uncertain future for foreign Islamic State orphans

The <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-states-says-128000-syrians-subject-to-arbitrary-detention-252917">United States</a> military command for Africa announced on Monday that it had killed seven suspected Islamic State jihadists in an airstrike in southern Libya, the fourth such operation in two weeks.

"Our pursuit of ISIS-Libya and other terrorist networks degrades their ability to effectively conduct operations against the Libyan people," said Africa Command director of operations William Gayler, using an alternative acronym for IS.

His statement said the strike was carried out in coordination with the U.N.-backed Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, and brings to 43 the number of suspected IS members killed by <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-must-take-sustained-and-verifiable-action-against-terrorists-united-states-252580">US forces</a> in Libya since September 19.

Three airstrikes were carried out on September 19, 24, and 26 in the area around Murzuq, an oasis town some 1,000 kilometres&nbsp;south of Tripoli, killing eight, eleven, and seventeen&nbsp;IS terrorists&nbsp;respectively, according to Africom.&nbsp;

Libya's southern desert lies outside the control of the GNA and of rival forces loyal to eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar, although Haftar is alleged to have a presence there.

Since the start of an anti-GNA offensive launched by Haftar on April 4 to take Tripoli, analysts have warned of a security vacuum that could benefit IS in other parts of the country.

The United States military command for Africa announced on Monday that it had killed seven suspected Islamic State jihadists in an airstrike in southern Libya, the fourth such operation in two weeks.

The United States military command for Africa announced on Monday that it had killed seven suspected Islamic State jihadists in an airstrike in southern Libya, the fourth such operation in two weeks. "Our pursuit of ISIS-Libya and other terrorist networks degrades their ability to effectively conduct operations against the Libyan people," said Africa Command director of operations William Gayler, using an alternative acronym for IS. His statement said the strike was carried out in coordination with the U.N.-backed Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, and brings to 43 the number of suspected IS members killed by US forces in Libya since September 19. Three airstrikes were carried out on September 19, 24, and 26 in the area around Murzuq, an oasis town some 1,000 kilometres south of Tripoli, killing eight, eleven, and seventeen IS terrorists respectively, according to Africom. Libya's southern desert lies outside the control of the GNA and of rival forces loyal to eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar, although Haftar is alleged to have a presence there. Since the start of an anti-GNA offensive launched by Haftar on April 4 to take Tripoli, analysts have warned of a security vacuum that could benefit IS in other parts of the country.

United States kills seven Islamic State terrorists in Libya air strike

Given the speed and alacrity with which Pakistan has moved after August 5, 2019, the day the constitutional and administrative decisions on Jammu &amp; Kashmir (J&amp;K) were taken by the Indian government, proves the dismay caused in Pakistan. As long as a special status existed for J&amp;K, separatism was a live phenomenon. The Pakistani narrative has seen much traction in Kashmir because it was against India, although, it hardly supported the core Kashmiri intent of Azadi. The Indian argument that history had overtaken the UN resolutions on J&amp;K and these were now void flew in the face of the special status India continued to accord to J&amp;K, leaving it as a territory whose status had yet to be settled. However, the abrogation of J&amp;K’s &nbsp;special status and its down gradation to a union territory put a spoke into Pakistan’s larger game plan because India put the stamp of integrated Indian territory on J&amp;K. 25 years ago through another bold action India had passed an All Party Joint Parliamentary Resolution on February &nbsp;22, 1994, declaring that the entire territory held by the then Maharaja of J&amp;K belonged to India.&nbsp;

The Pakistan Army along with the other elements of the deep state know that time is not on their side and that India’s new approach to countering the proxy hybrid conflict could get more effective by the day. As it is the three track strategy of instigating internal turbulence through established networks, external castigation of India by influential members of the international community including institutions, and enhancing alienation using its usually very effective communication strategy, has thus far all come cropper. However, Pakistan’s strategic thinkers would also be closely monitoring the situation within J&amp;K and re-strategising based upon some assumptions.

The start point is the projection by Pakistan that the Kashmiri population has not accepted the Indian government’s decisions. For that there is a need for the world to see that their is violence and mayhem on the streets. By itself that may be insufficient although Pakistan would be happy to see some casualties; in 2016 by contrast 40 or more people had lost their lives in four weeks of agitation; this time it’s just one. The agitation mode is subject to will and stamina and needs much effort at mobilisation. The communication lock down has effectively denied a toehold in this sphere. A series of supplementary violent acts by terrorists against the Army and Police organisations sustains longer than agitation. Hence the need for increasing the strength of terrorists. Local recruitment under current and foreseeable future circumstances will be difficult especially under high levels of army and police deployment and surveillance. Gulmarg and its vicinity has been devoid of infiltration for sometime. Suddenly a surge of activity is taking place there. The Haji Pir bulge is a suitable launch pad and the routes lead directly into South Kashmir where the fulcrum of the current resistance exists. It is also likely that Pakistan will use other less frequented routes and cater for high level levels of attrition that could result from encounters with the Indian Army; this has long been JuD chief Hafiz Sayeed’s strategy. It’s a situation very akin to 1991-92 when foreign terrorists were first used in Kashmir to boost militancy. &nbsp;

Apprehension that a big terror attack in &nbsp;Southern or Central India is in the offing could prove right too. With the Islamic State (IS) terror attacks in Sri Lanka on April 2019 the scope for execution and denial by Pakistan has increased manifold. Tactical alliance between terror groups for temporary mutual gain is also not unknown; the ISI garnering services of the IS thus remains plausible. Pakistan’s international focus will remain the projection of the idea of ‘false flag’ in relation to a high profile terror attack, mostly involving improvised explosive devices (IEDs) anywhere in Kashmir’s hinterland or in rest of India. India has worked insufficiently on this till date and its diplomatic campaigns must include nailing the Pakistani lie on false flag.&nbsp;

The adoption of offensive information and psychological warfare awaits the lifting of the communication lockdown of Kashmir. Mobile internet facility being denied in Kashmir has been frowned upon by Indian intelligentsia and international clamour to restore this ‘human right’ has been increasing. Pakistan’s propaganda machinery awaits the full lifting of the lockdown to flood the networks of social media with enough seditious literature and messages.

While Indian counters to this have been developing these are yet insufficient; this is where the focus of Delhi’s efforts must lie forthrightly and boldly citing national security and adopting a balanced attitude towards human rights.

This is the other issue on which the UNHRC will not remain the last bastion of Pakistan’s focus of painting Indian human rights record in different colours. We should remain alert to continuing our efforts to counter Pakistan’s propaganda in international think tanks and the high profile media where Pakistani traction continues to remain high.

Pakistan will find that the partial and progressive success of Indian agencies in taking control of financial networks will largely block its ability to mobilise support and run terror activities. It’s strategy is once again likely to shift towards fake currency and funding from within India. This is where other borders such as along Gujarat, Rajasthan and Punjab are likely to be activated for induction of fake currency.

Lastly, the diplomatic support to India and relatively cool attitude towards Pakistan on the part of GCC countries is likely to peeve Pakistan no end leading to renewed efforts by it to cultivate negative opinion on India in these important nations. The media in these countries is important too and it’s opinion makes international opinion in the Islamic world. India’s engagement with the GCC media too is warranted even as all eyes now await 27 September the day the UN General Assembly.&nbsp;

(This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the <a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-jk-pakistan-s-next-steps-2789585">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;

Given the speed and alacrity with which Pakistan has moved after August 5, 2019, the day the constitutional and administrative decisions on Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) were taken by the Indian government, proves the dismay caused in Pakistan.

Given the speed and alacrity with which Pakistan has moved after August 5, 2019, the day the constitutional and administrative decisions on Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) were taken by the Indian government, proves the dismay caused in Pakistan. As long as a special status existed for J&K, separatism was a live phenomenon. The Pakistani narrative has seen much traction in Kashmir because it was against India, although, it hardly supported the core Kashmiri intent of Azadi. The Indian argument that history had overtaken the UN resolutions on J&K and these were now void flew in the face of the special status India continued to accord to J&K, leaving it as a territory whose status had yet to be settled. However, the abrogation of J&K’s special status and its down gradation to a union territory put a spoke into Pakistan’s larger game plan because India put the stamp of integrated Indian territory on J&K. 25 years ago through another bold action India had passed an All Party Joint Parliamentary Resolution on February 22, 1994, declaring that the entire territory held by the then Maharaja of J&K belonged to India. The Pakistan Army along with the other elements of the deep state know that time is not on their side and that India’s new approach to countering the proxy hybrid conflict could get more effective by the day. As it is the three track strategy of instigating internal turbulence through established networks, external castigation of India by influential members of the international community including institutions, and enhancing alienation using its usually very effective communication strategy, has thus far all come cropper. However, Pakistan’s strategic thinkers would also be closely monitoring the situation within J&K and re-strategising based upon some assumptions. The start point is the projection by Pakistan that the Kashmiri population has not accepted the Indian government’s decisions. For that there is a need for the world to see that their is violence and mayhem on the streets. By itself that may be insufficient although Pakistan would be happy to see some casualties; in 2016 by contrast 40 or more people had lost their lives in four weeks of agitation; this time it’s just one. The agitation mode is subject to will and stamina and needs much effort at mobilisation. The communication lock down has effectively denied a toehold in this sphere. A series of supplementary violent acts by terrorists against the Army and Police organisations sustains longer than agitation. Hence the need for increasing the strength of terrorists. Local recruitment under current and foreseeable future circumstances will be difficult especially under high levels of army and police deployment and surveillance. Gulmarg and its vicinity has been devoid of infiltration for sometime. Suddenly a surge of activity is taking place there. The Haji Pir bulge is a suitable launch pad and the routes lead directly into South Kashmir where the fulcrum of the current resistance exists. It is also likely that Pakistan will use other less frequented routes and cater for high level levels of attrition that could result from encounters with the Indian Army; this has long been JuD chief Hafiz Sayeed’s strategy. It’s a situation very akin to 1991-92 when foreign terrorists were first used in Kashmir to boost militancy. Apprehension that a big terror attack in Southern or Central India is in the offing could prove right too. With the Islamic State (IS) terror attacks in Sri Lanka on April 2019 the scope for execution and denial by Pakistan has increased manifold. Tactical alliance between terror groups for temporary mutual gain is also not unknown; the ISI garnering services of the IS thus remains plausible. Pakistan’s international focus will remain the projection of the idea of ‘false flag’ in relation to a high profile terror attack, mostly involving improvised explosive devices (IEDs) anywhere in Kashmir’s hinterland or in rest of India. India has worked insufficiently on this till date and its diplomatic campaigns must include nailing the Pakistani lie on false flag. The adoption of offensive information and psychological warfare awaits the lifting of the communication lockdown of Kashmir. Mobile internet facility being denied in Kashmir has been frowned upon by Indian intelligentsia and international clamour to restore this ‘human right’ has been increasing. Pakistan’s propaganda machinery awaits the full lifting of the lockdown to flood the networks of social media with enough seditious literature and messages. While Indian counters to this have been developing these are yet insufficient; this is where the focus of Delhi’s efforts must lie forthrightly and boldly citing national security and adopting a balanced attitude towards human rights. This is the other issue on which the UNHRC will not remain the last bastion of Pakistan’s focus of painting Indian human rights record in different colours. We should remain alert to continuing our efforts to counter Pakistan’s propaganda in international think tanks and the high profile media where Pakistani traction continues to remain high. Pakistan will find that the partial and progressive success of Indian agencies in taking control of financial networks will largely block its ability to mobilise support and run terror activities. It’s strategy is once again likely to shift towards fake currency and funding from within India. This is where other borders such as along Gujarat, Rajasthan and Punjab are likely to be activated for induction of fake currency. Lastly, the diplomatic support to India and relatively cool attitude towards Pakistan on the part of GCC countries is likely to peeve Pakistan no end leading to renewed efforts by it to cultivate negative opinion on India in these important nations. The media in these countries is important too and it’s opinion makes international opinion in the Islamic world. India’s engagement with the GCC media too is warranted even as all eyes now await 27 September the day the UN General Assembly. (This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

J&K: Pakistan's next steps

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-un-envoy-meets-unga-president-discusses-kashmir-issue-245943">The United Nations</a> said Friday it will help evacuate civilians from an "abysmal" Syrian desert camp near the border with Jordan, after a mission last week determined who wanted to leave.

"We are ready to facilitate" evacuations from the Rukban camp, said Panos Moumtzis, the UN's Syria humanitarian chief.&nbsp;

"We want to make sure it happens voluntarily," he told AFP during an interview in Beirut, describing the situation in the settlement as "abysmal".&nbsp;

According to the UN official, around 12,700 people remain in the isolated Rukban camp near a base used by the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group.

The Syrian government and key backer Russia said in February they had opened corridors out of the camp, calling on residents to leave.

More than half of the original population has left in the past months, the United Nations says.

The UN and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent sent a mission to the camp last week to determine how many people remained inside and who wanted to leave, the UN official said.&nbsp;

"A little bit more than a third of them want to leave," Moumtzis said.&nbsp;

"The vast majority want to go into government-held areas and some others want to go to the north," held by the opposition, he added.&nbsp;

But the UN is not able to provide protection guarantees after civilians quit the camp, he said.

Some 47 per cent of surveyed camp residents said they wanted to stay, citing reasons including "security concerns" and "fear of detention".

Rights groups have warned that civilians returning to government-held territory have faced detention and conscription.

Those fleeing to the rebel-held north might face violence in the Idlib region, where Russian and regime bombardment has killed more than 950 people since April.&nbsp;

Although Rukban has not received aid since February, the latest UN mission did not deliver any relief items beyond "a minimal number of health supplies", Moumtzis said.

But last week's visit is only the first part of a "two-step" plan the second of which will involve aid delivery, according to the UN official.

"The next mission I hope very quickly will go back and deliver the desperately needed assistance," he said, without providing a specific date.

Conditions inside Rukban are dire, with many surviving on just one simple meal a day, often the bread and olive oil or yoghurt, according to one resident.

The United Nations said Friday it will help evacuate civilians from an "abysmal" Syrian desert camp near the border with Jordan, after a mission last week determined who wanted to leave.

The United Nations said Friday it will help evacuate civilians from an "abysmal" Syrian desert camp near the border with Jordan, after a mission last week determined who wanted to leave. "We are ready to facilitate" evacuations from the Rukban camp, said Panos Moumtzis, the UN's Syria humanitarian chief. "We want to make sure it happens voluntarily," he told AFP during an interview in Beirut, describing the situation in the settlement as "abysmal". According to the UN official, around 12,700 people remain in the isolated Rukban camp near a base used by the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group. The Syrian government and key backer Russia said in February they had opened corridors out of the camp, calling on residents to leave. More than half of the original population has left in the past months, the United Nations says. The UN and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent sent a mission to the camp last week to determine how many people remained inside and who wanted to leave, the UN official said. "A little bit more than a third of them want to leave," Moumtzis said. "The vast majority want to go into government-held areas and some others want to go to the north," held by the opposition, he added. But the UN is not able to provide protection guarantees after civilians quit the camp, he said. Some 47 per cent of surveyed camp residents said they wanted to stay, citing reasons including "security concerns" and "fear of detention". Rights groups have warned that civilians returning to government-held territory have faced detention and conscription. Those fleeing to the rebel-held north might face violence in the Idlib region, where Russian and regime bombardment has killed more than 950 people since April. Although Rukban has not received aid since February, the latest UN mission did not deliver any relief items beyond "a minimal number of health supplies", Moumtzis said. But last week's visit is only the first part of a "two-step" plan the second of which will involve aid delivery, according to the UN official. "The next mission I hope very quickly will go back and deliver the desperately needed assistance," he said, without providing a specific date. Conditions inside Rukban are dire, with many surviving on just one simple meal a day, often the bread and olive oil or yoghurt, according to one resident.

United Nations to 'facilitate' evacuations from Syria desert camp

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