Asurma Arab and her family spent more than two years waiting in Serbia for their chance to cross the steel fence that Hungary erected along its border to keep out migrants.

Little did the Afghan family know, their asylum plea was already a lost cause.

Under amendments passed in 2018, Hungary has been automatically rejecting applications of those who have passed through a "safe transit country", in this case Serbia, in what rights groups say has turned the asylum process into a cruel charade.

"They did not ask what problems brought us there, they only asked us how we had come," the 36-year-old mother, trembling with tears, said from the migrant camp in Serbia where her family is regrouping.

After their long wait, their experience of Hungary was bleak and brief.&nbsp;

They were shut into a transit camp made of blue shipping containers and surrounded by a razor-wire fence, just next to the border barrier.&nbsp;

Four months later, their application was rejected and they were kicked back to Serbia in the middle of the night.

"They brought us to the other side of the fence and left us in the forest," Asurma said.

During the 2015 migrant crisis, the border etched across northern Serbia's fertile flatlands became a vital crossing point into the European Union for migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

But Hungary slowed their march by building the 175-kilometre&nbsp;border fence four years ago, fortifying the EU's edge.

Since then, Budapest has continued to pass laws hostile to migrants, alarming EU officials who have struggled to rein in right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his anti-immigration crusade.

The "safe transit country" idea is a "novel concept that has been introduced by Hungarian officials" over the last year, said John Young from the UNHCR mission in Serbia.

"It's not the way an asylum system is supposed to work," he said.

'Causes unacceptable suffering'

The number of migrants allowed to enter Hungary from Serbia has also been systematically reduced to a trickle, from 20 people a day down to the current quota of around two families per week.

One official at a Serbian migrant camp described it as a form of "psychological torture" for those like Asurma who spend years waiting on a list.&nbsp;

Hungary's two "transit zone" camps have also been roundly criticised by rights groups as inhumane.&nbsp;

"Detaining people, including children, indefinitely behind barbed wires and fences in shipping containers is not simply unlawful but causes unacceptable suffering to asylum seekers," said the Hungarian Helsinki Committee rights group.

A new battle has been brewing since migrants reported being refused food while being forced to choose between returning to Serbia or deportation to their home country.

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee has documented 15 cases of food deprivation affecting nearly 30 people since August 2018.&nbsp;

Asurma, who was pregnant at the time, says her husband was also denied food for three days after their application was rejected.

In July the European Commission warned that detention conditions in Hungarian transit zones, in particular the withholding of food, violated the bloc's rights legislation.

On October 10, Brussels gave Budapest one month to respond, threatening to refer the case to the European Court of Justice.

When asked to comment by AFP, the government's press office said that all asylum seekers are provided for, but if their bid is "refused, he or she must leave the transit zone".

Although the European Court of Human Rights ruled in early October that Hungary must allow journalists into the transit camps, AFP reporters were refused entry at the scene several weeks later and have also had an official request denied on grounds of "privacy rights and keeping the peace" of those detained.

'I feel like I am 200'

After years of pinning their hopes on Hungary, Asurma and her family are now joining many other migrants in swerving westwards towards Croatia, carving a new route through the Balkans.

That path usually involves crossing mountains in Bosnia, a country with a shortage of migrant facilities, leaving many to sleep rough or in tent cities with deplorable sanitary conditions.

The next hurdle is circumventing Croatian border police, who are regularly accused of violent pushbacks.

Many migrants have reported beatings and thefts at their hands, though Zagreb denies all accusations.

In their latest attempt to leave Serbia, Asurma and her younger children were stopped by Croatian police, while her oldest daughter and husband managed to slip through.

They made it to Germany, where they are waiting for word on a new asylum application.

Asurma, however, remains in Serbia, trying to plot her next move with two teenagers and a newborn baby who has Down Syndrome and needs treatment for troubled breathing, which comes out in choked gasps.

After years of a life put on hold, her spirit is weakened.

"It is like my body has been torn into pieces from sadness and misery. Yes I am 36 years old, but I feel like I am 200," she said.

Asurma Arab and her family spent more than two years waiting in Serbia for their chance to cross the steel fence that Hungary erected along its border to keep out migrants.

Asurma Arab and her family spent more than two years waiting in Serbia for their chance to cross the steel fence that Hungary erected along its border to keep out migrants. Little did the Afghan family know, their asylum plea was already a lost cause. Under amendments passed in 2018, Hungary has been automatically rejecting applications of those who have passed through a "safe transit country", in this case Serbia, in what rights groups say has turned the asylum process into a cruel charade. "They did not ask what problems brought us there, they only asked us how we had come," the 36-year-old mother, trembling with tears, said from the migrant camp in Serbia where her family is regrouping. After their long wait, their experience of Hungary was bleak and brief. They were shut into a transit camp made of blue shipping containers and surrounded by a razor-wire fence, just next to the border barrier. Four months later, their application was rejected and they were kicked back to Serbia in the middle of the night. "They brought us to the other side of the fence and left us in the forest," Asurma said. During the 2015 migrant crisis, the border etched across northern Serbia's fertile flatlands became a vital crossing point into the European Union for migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa. But Hungary slowed their march by building the 175-kilometre border fence four years ago, fortifying the EU's edge. Since then, Budapest has continued to pass laws hostile to migrants, alarming EU officials who have struggled to rein in right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his anti-immigration crusade. The "safe transit country" idea is a "novel concept that has been introduced by Hungarian officials" over the last year, said John Young from the UNHCR mission in Serbia. "It's not the way an asylum system is supposed to work," he said. 'Causes unacceptable suffering' The number of migrants allowed to enter Hungary from Serbia has also been systematically reduced to a trickle, from 20 people a day down to the current quota of around two families per week. One official at a Serbian migrant camp described it as a form of "psychological torture" for those like Asurma who spend years waiting on a list. Hungary's two "transit zone" camps have also been roundly criticised by rights groups as inhumane. "Detaining people, including children, indefinitely behind barbed wires and fences in shipping containers is not simply unlawful but causes unacceptable suffering to asylum seekers," said the Hungarian Helsinki Committee rights group. A new battle has been brewing since migrants reported being refused food while being forced to choose between returning to Serbia or deportation to their home country. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee has documented 15 cases of food deprivation affecting nearly 30 people since August 2018. Asurma, who was pregnant at the time, says her husband was also denied food for three days after their application was rejected. In July the European Commission warned that detention conditions in Hungarian transit zones, in particular the withholding of food, violated the bloc's rights legislation. On October 10, Brussels gave Budapest one month to respond, threatening to refer the case to the European Court of Justice. When asked to comment by AFP, the government's press office said that all asylum seekers are provided for, but if their bid is "refused, he or she must leave the transit zone". Although the European Court of Human Rights ruled in early October that Hungary must allow journalists into the transit camps, AFP reporters were refused entry at the scene several weeks later and have also had an official request denied on grounds of "privacy rights and keeping the peace" of those detained. 'I feel like I am 200' After years of pinning their hopes on Hungary, Asurma and her family are now joining many other migrants in swerving westwards towards Croatia, carving a new route through the Balkans. That path usually involves crossing mountains in Bosnia, a country with a shortage of migrant facilities, leaving many to sleep rough or in tent cities with deplorable sanitary conditions. The next hurdle is circumventing Croatian border police, who are regularly accused of violent pushbacks. Many migrants have reported beatings and thefts at their hands, though Zagreb denies all accusations. In their latest attempt to leave Serbia, Asurma and her younger children were stopped by Croatian police, while her oldest daughter and husband managed to slip through. They made it to Germany, where they are waiting for word on a new asylum application. Asurma, however, remains in Serbia, trying to plot her next move with two teenagers and a newborn baby who has Down Syndrome and needs treatment for troubled breathing, which comes out in choked gasps. After years of a life put on hold, her spirit is weakened. "It is like my body has been torn into pieces from sadness and misery. Yes I am 36 years old, but I feel like I am 200," she said.

Migrants lose in futile game on Hungary-Serbia frontier

A <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/syrian-talks-to-reconvene-in-geneva-on-november-25-un-envoy-260850">Syria summit</a> will be held in early December between the leaders of Turkey, France, Germany and Britain in London, the Turkish presidency said Friday.

"It was decided to organise this four-way summit on the sidelines of the NATO summit scheduled in London on December 3 and 4," Anadolu state news agency quoted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's advisor Ibrahim Kalin as saying.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/tayyip-erdogan-says-united-states-not-fulfilling-syria-deal-ahead-of-doanld-trump-talks-260531">Erdogan</a> is expected to sit down with Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel and Boris Johnson at a time of high tensions in the NATO alliance over Turkey's offensive last month against Kurdish militants, who had been a key ally for the West against the Islamic State group.&nbsp;

Erdogan has accused Western governments of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions/examining-security-implications-of-turkish-invasion-of-syria-260554">"siding with terrorists"</a> over their NATO ally.

Turkey sees the Syrian Kurdish militants as an off-shoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a bloody insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 and is considered a terrorist organisation by the European Union and United States.&nbsp;

The Turkish offensive was halted by two ceasefires organised with Moscow and Washington, but Ankara has threatened to resume hostilities if Kurdish forces do not fully withdraw from an agreed 30-kilometre-deep zone along the Turkish border.&nbsp;

A Syria summit will be held in early December between the leaders of Turkey, France, Germany and Britain in London, the Turkish presidency said Friday. "It was decided to organise this four-way summit on the sidelines of the NATO summit scheduled in London on December 3 and 4," Anadolu state news agency quoted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's advisor Ibrahim Kalin as saying.

A Syria summit will be held in early December between the leaders of Turkey, France, Germany and Britain in London, the Turkish presidency said Friday. "It was decided to organise this four-way summit on the sidelines of the NATO summit scheduled in London on December 3 and 4," Anadolu state news agency quoted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's advisor Ibrahim Kalin as saying. Erdogan is expected to sit down with Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel and Boris Johnson at a time of high tensions in the NATO alliance over Turkey's offensive last month against Kurdish militants, who had been a key ally for the West against the Islamic State group. Erdogan has accused Western governments of "siding with terrorists" over their NATO ally. Turkey sees the Syrian Kurdish militants as an off-shoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a bloody insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 and is considered a terrorist organisation by the European Union and United States. The Turkish offensive was halted by two ceasefires organised with Moscow and Washington, but Ankara has threatened to resume hostilities if Kurdish forces do not fully withdraw from an agreed 30-kilometre-deep zone along the Turkish border.

Turkey, Britain, France, Germany to hold Syria summit

A U.N. envoy concluded an opening round of talks on the political future of Syria on Friday meant to bring political reconciliation after 8-1/2 years of war, saying they went better than expected and would reconvene later this month.

Acknowledging that discussions were sometimes "very painful" Geir Pedersen said the delegates to the Constitutional Committee from the government, opposition and civil society addressed them with professionalism.

"I believe it has gone much better than most people would have expected," he told journalists in Geneva.

"The next round of discussions will start on November 25," Pedersen said.

He said the discussions focused on issues of sovereignty, territorial integrity and terrorism, without going into details.

There was no immediate deal on the release of thousands of detainees in the country, one of the points that Pedersen had previously said was an important step needed to build confidence between the parties.

A U.N. envoy concluded an opening round of talks on the political future of Syria on Friday meant to bring political reconciliation after 8-1/2 years of war, saying they went better than expected and would reconvene later this month.

A U.N. envoy concluded an opening round of talks on the political future of Syria on Friday meant to bring political reconciliation after 8-1/2 years of war, saying they went better than expected and would reconvene later this month. Acknowledging that discussions were sometimes "very painful" Geir Pedersen said the delegates to the Constitutional Committee from the government, opposition and civil society addressed them with professionalism. "I believe it has gone much better than most people would have expected," he told journalists in Geneva. "The next round of discussions will start on November 25," Pedersen said. He said the discussions focused on issues of sovereignty, territorial integrity and terrorism, without going into details. There was no immediate deal on the release of thousands of detainees in the country, one of the points that Pedersen had previously said was an important step needed to build confidence between the parties.

Syrian talks to reconvene in Geneva on November 25: U.N. envoy

The <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/israeli-jets-hit-targets-in-syria-to-prevent-iranian-drone-attack-army-245526">Iranian army</a> shot down an unidentified drone near the port of Bandar-e Mahshahr on the Gulf Coast on Friday, Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency reported.

The unmanned aircraft was downed over <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ready-to-hit-militant-base-inside-pakistan-iran-army-15353">Iranian territory </a>with a domestically manufactured Mersad surface-to-air missile, said Tasnim news agency which is close to the ultra-conservatives.

Neither news agency gave any further details of the incident which comes amid soaring tensions between Tehran and Washington since President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned a landmark 2015 nuclear deal last year and reimposed crippling sanctions.

Trump in June authorised a military strike after Iran shot down a US drone, only to call off the retaliation at the last moment.

Washington insists the aircraft was in international airspace, but Iran says it was over its territorial waters.

The crisis deepened with the September 14 attacks on Saudi energy giant Aramco's Abqaiq processing plant and Khurais oilfield which halved the kingdom's crude output.

Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed responsibility, but the US says the attacks involved cruise missiles from Iran and amounted to "an act of war".

Washington has responded with a military build-up in the Gulf and on Thursday launched an operation with its allies to protect navigation in Gulf waters.

Since May the United States has increased its 70,000-strong presence in the Middle East by 14,000 personnel, according to Pentagon figures, most of them deployed to the Gulf region.

The Iranian army shot down an unidentified drone near the port of Bandar-e Mahshahr on the Gulf Coast on Friday, Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency reported. The unmanned aircraft was downed over Iranian territory with a domestically manufactured Mersad surface-to-air missile, said Tasnim news agency which is close to the ultra-conservatives.

The Iranian army shot down an unidentified drone near the port of Bandar-e Mahshahr on the Gulf Coast on Friday, Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency reported. The unmanned aircraft was downed over Iranian territory with a domestically manufactured Mersad surface-to-air missile, said Tasnim news agency which is close to the ultra-conservatives. Neither news agency gave any further details of the incident which comes amid soaring tensions between Tehran and Washington since President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned a landmark 2015 nuclear deal last year and reimposed crippling sanctions. Trump in June authorised a military strike after Iran shot down a US drone, only to call off the retaliation at the last moment. Washington insists the aircraft was in international airspace, but Iran says it was over its territorial waters. The crisis deepened with the September 14 attacks on Saudi energy giant Aramco's Abqaiq processing plant and Khurais oilfield which halved the kingdom's crude output. Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed responsibility, but the US says the attacks involved cruise missiles from Iran and amounted to "an act of war". Washington has responded with a military build-up in the Gulf and on Thursday launched an operation with its allies to protect navigation in Gulf waters. Since May the United States has increased its 70,000-strong presence in the Middle East by 14,000 personnel, according to Pentagon figures, most of them deployed to the Gulf region.

Iran downs unidentified drone near Gulf coast: Reports

Turkish police arrested 17 foreigners on Thursday suspected of ties to the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/relatives-of-islamic-state-fighters-returning-home-could-commit-terror-attacks-russia-260579">Islamic State group</a>, state news agency Anadolu reported.&nbsp;

The 17, whose nationalities were not given, were arrested in Ankara and taken for interrogation by counter-terrorism officers, Anadolu said.

Turkey has highlighted its efforts to crack down on the Islamic State group (IS) following the assassination of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by the United States last week.&nbsp;

Turkish officials said they arrested Baghdadi's sister this week and announced they had been holding his wife since last year.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that members of Baghdadi's entourage were seeking to enter Turkey and that several -- "close to double figures" -- had been arrested.

In the early years of the Syrian conflict when Turkey was keen to see the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad, it was accused of failing to prevent the passage of jihadists over its border.&nbsp;

That changed following a series of IS attacks within Turkey, and Ankara joined the US-led anti-IS coalition in 2015.&nbsp;

It has again been accused of undermining the battle against IS in recent weeks with its military offensive against Kurdish forces in northern Syria, who have been the key ground force against IS and were crucial to locating Baghdadi.

Turkish police arrested 17 foreigners on Thursday suspected of ties to the Islamic State group, state news agency Anadolu reported. The 17, whose nationalities were not given, were arrested in Ankara and taken for interrogation by counter-terrorism officers, Anadolu said.

Turkish police arrested 17 foreigners on Thursday suspected of ties to the Islamic State group, state news agency Anadolu reported. The 17, whose nationalities were not given, were arrested in Ankara and taken for interrogation by counter-terrorism officers, Anadolu said. Turkey has highlighted its efforts to crack down on the Islamic State group (IS) following the assassination of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by the United States last week. Turkish officials said they arrested Baghdadi's sister this week and announced they had been holding his wife since last year. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that members of Baghdadi's entourage were seeking to enter Turkey and that several -- "close to double figures" -- had been arrested. In the early years of the Syrian conflict when Turkey was keen to see the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad, it was accused of failing to prevent the passage of jihadists over its border. That changed following a series of IS attacks within Turkey, and Ankara joined the US-led anti-IS coalition in 2015. It has again been accused of undermining the battle against IS in recent weeks with its military offensive against Kurdish forces in northern Syria, who have been the key ground force against IS and were crucial to locating Baghdadi.

Turkey arrests 17 on suspected Islamic State links

Turkish President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/tayyip-erdogan-says-united-states-not-fulfilling-syria-deal-ahead-of-doanld-trump-talks-260531">Recep Tayyip Erdogan</a> on Thursday repeated his threat to "open the gates" for migrants to enter Europe unless more international support was provided, during a visit to Hungary on Thursday.&nbsp;

"Whether or not support comes, we will continue to host our guests, but only up to a point," Erdogan said at a news conference alongside Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

"If we see that this does not work, just like I said before, we will have no option left but to open the gates. If we open the gates, it is obvious where they will go," Erdogan added.

Erdogan has called on EU countries to provide more financial support for his plan to create a "safe zone" in Syria where refugees can be repatriated.

Orban has been one of Europe's most outspoken opponents of accepting refugees and migrants, particularly from Muslim countries, and has backed Erdogan's efforts to repatriate them.&nbsp;

"There are four million migrants in our country," Erdogan said. "It is possible that a serious number of those migrants will migrate to Europe.&nbsp;

"The safe zone we want to create aims to ensure the migrants that are in our country go back to their homes, their lands."

The EU strongly criticised Turkey's offensive last month in northern Syria, which was designed to create the "safe zone".&nbsp;

Erdogan said the EU's approach was "far from being constructive lately.... With that attitude, they only harm their own interests."&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday repeated his threat to "open the gates" for migrants to enter Europe unless more international support was provided, during a visit to Hungary on Thursday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday repeated his threat to "open the gates" for migrants to enter Europe unless more international support was provided, during a visit to Hungary on Thursday. "Whether or not support comes, we will continue to host our guests, but only up to a point," Erdogan said at a news conference alongside Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. "If we see that this does not work, just like I said before, we will have no option left but to open the gates. If we open the gates, it is obvious where they will go," Erdogan added. Erdogan has called on EU countries to provide more financial support for his plan to create a "safe zone" in Syria where refugees can be repatriated. Orban has been one of Europe's most outspoken opponents of accepting refugees and migrants, particularly from Muslim countries, and has backed Erdogan's efforts to repatriate them. "There are four million migrants in our country," Erdogan said. "It is possible that a serious number of those migrants will migrate to Europe. "The safe zone we want to create aims to ensure the migrants that are in our country go back to their homes, their lands." The EU strongly criticised Turkey's offensive last month in northern Syria, which was designed to create the "safe zone". Erdogan said the EU's approach was "far from being constructive lately.... With that attitude, they only harm their own interests."

Erdogan repeats threat to 'open the gates' for migrants to enter Europe

French President&nbsp;Emmanuel Macron says he believes NATO is undergoing "brain death," lamenting a lack of coordination between Europe and the United States and unilateral actions in Syria by key member Turkey, in an interview published Thursday.

"What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of NATO," Macron told The Economist magazine in an interview.

"You have no coordination whatsoever of strategic decision-making between the United States and its NATO allies. None. You have an uncoordinated aggressive action by another NATO ally, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkey-not-distancing-itself-from-nato-with-russian-missiles-deal-minister-215689">Turkey</a>, in an area where our interests are at stake," he added, according to an English transcript released by The Economist.

Macron's comments questioning the effectiveness of NATO threaten to send shock waves through the alliance ahead of a summit meeting Britain next month.

NATO has already been hit by Turkey's latest military operation against Kurdish militia in northern Syria -- which was staunchly opposed by fellow members like France -- and President Donald Trump's lack of enthusiasm for the organisation.

"There has been no NATO planning, nor any coordination. There hasn't even been any NATO deconfliction," Macron said.&nbsp;

And while NATO works well in communicating between armies and commanding operations, "strategically and politically, we need to recognise that we have a problem," he said.

"We should reassess the reality of what NATO is in the light of the commitment of the United States," he warned, adding that "In my opinion, Europe has the capacity to defend itself."

Macron argued that Europe could do this if "it accelerates the development of European defence."

'Head off on their own'&nbsp;

He expressed frustration that the United States under Trump had effectively allowed Turkey to go ahead with its operation in Syria by pulling back American forces.

"NATO as a system doesn't regulate its members," he said.

"So as soon as you have a member who feels they have a right to head off on their own, granted by the USA, they do it," he said.

"It's not in our interest" to push Turkey out of NATO "but perhaps to reconsider what NATO is."

The French president, seen by analysts as Europe's most prominent leader amid Brexit and the looming exit of <a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/germany-commits-to-nato-spending-goal-by-2031-for-first-time-260572">German Chancellor</a> Angela Merkel in 2021, has sought to stand tall on the foreign policy stage and implement a vision of reforming Europe.

But he said Europe had been brought "to the edge of a precipice" by reducing the political scope of the European Union project since the mid-1990s.

"Europe has forgotten that it is a community, by increasingly thinking of itself as a market, with expansion as its end purpose," said Macron, who recently blocked expanding the EU further to include two more Balkan states.

Macron said it was a time of turmoil with Europe losing track of history, the US aligning more closely with <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions/russias-resurgence-and-chinas-rise-will-test-nato-219295">China</a> and authoritarian powers emerging in its neighbourhood.

"All this has led to the exceptional fragility of Europe which, if it can’t think of itself as a global power, will disappear, because it will take a hard knock," he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron says he believes NATO is undergoing "brain death," lamenting a lack of coordination between Europe and the United States and unilateral actions in Syria by key member Turkey, in an interview published Thursday.

French President Emmanuel Macron says he believes NATO is undergoing "brain death," lamenting a lack of coordination between Europe and the United States and unilateral actions in Syria by key member Turkey, in an interview published Thursday. "What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of NATO," Macron told The Economist magazine in an interview. "You have no coordination whatsoever of strategic decision-making between the United States and its NATO allies. None. You have an uncoordinated aggressive action by another NATO ally, Turkey, in an area where our interests are at stake," he added, according to an English transcript released by The Economist. Macron's comments questioning the effectiveness of NATO threaten to send shock waves through the alliance ahead of a summit meeting Britain next month. NATO has already been hit by Turkey's latest military operation against Kurdish militia in northern Syria -- which was staunchly opposed by fellow members like France -- and President Donald Trump's lack of enthusiasm for the organisation. "There has been no NATO planning, nor any coordination. There hasn't even been any NATO deconfliction," Macron said. And while NATO works well in communicating between armies and commanding operations, "strategically and politically, we need to recognise that we have a problem," he said. "We should reassess the reality of what NATO is in the light of the commitment of the United States," he warned, adding that "In my opinion, Europe has the capacity to defend itself." Macron argued that Europe could do this if "it accelerates the development of European defence." 'Head off on their own' He expressed frustration that the United States under Trump had effectively allowed Turkey to go ahead with its operation in Syria by pulling back American forces. "NATO as a system doesn't regulate its members," he said. "So as soon as you have a member who feels they have a right to head off on their own, granted by the USA, they do it," he said. "It's not in our interest" to push Turkey out of NATO "but perhaps to reconsider what NATO is." The French president, seen by analysts as Europe's most prominent leader amid Brexit and the looming exit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2021, has sought to stand tall on the foreign policy stage and implement a vision of reforming Europe. But he said Europe had been brought "to the edge of a precipice" by reducing the political scope of the European Union project since the mid-1990s. "Europe has forgotten that it is a community, by increasingly thinking of itself as a market, with expansion as its end purpose," said Macron, who recently blocked expanding the EU further to include two more Balkan states. Macron said it was a time of turmoil with Europe losing track of history, the US aligning more closely with China and authoritarian powers emerging in its neighbourhood. "All this has led to the exceptional fragility of Europe which, if it can’t think of itself as a global power, will disappear, because it will take a hard knock," he said.

NATO experiencing 'brain death': President Macron

Russia's security service chief on Thursday warned about some<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkey-to-send-back-foreign-islamic-state-fighters-259537"> 2,000 women and children</a> related to Russian fighters for the Islamic State group who he said could return and commit attacks.

"Currently there are around 2,000 women and children on whom we have data who are relatives of fighters, that's just Russian nationals," the head of the FSB security service Alexander Bortnikov said at a regional security forum in Tashkent, TASS news agency reported.

He said that this included both family members who are still in the Middle East or who have left the region.

Watch Video:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/nearly-800-islamic-state-supporters-escaped-from-syria-255684/embed" width="560" height="350" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" autoplay=1 allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

Some of these may still have extremist views and could commit <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-wants-to-bolster-fight-against-islamic-state-after-its-leaders-death-258646">terror attacks back</a> in Russia, he warned.

"Such returnees quite often adhere to extremist religious ideology," Bortnikov said.

He said "the heads of international terror organisations target such people as suicide bombers, proselytisers and recruiters and agents for the underground terrorist network."

Unlike some other countries, Russia has organised the repatriation of some women and children of Islamist fighters, particularly to its Caucasus regions. 
&nbsp;

Russia's security service chief on Thursday warned about some 2,000 women and children related to Russian fighters for the Islamic State group who he said could return and commit attacks.

Russia's security service chief on Thursday warned about some 2,000 women and children related to Russian fighters for the Islamic State group who he said could return and commit attacks. "Currently there are around 2,000 women and children on whom we have data who are relatives of fighters, that's just Russian nationals," the head of the FSB security service Alexander Bortnikov said at a regional security forum in Tashkent, TASS news agency reported. He said that this included both family members who are still in the Middle East or who have left the region. Watch Video: Some of these may still have extremist views and could commit terror attacks back in Russia, he warned. "Such returnees quite often adhere to extremist religious ideology," Bortnikov said. He said "the heads of international terror organisations target such people as suicide bombers, proselytisers and recruiters and agents for the underground terrorist network." Unlike some other countries, Russia has organised the repatriation of some women and children of Islamist fighters, particularly to its Caucasus regions.

Relatives of Islamic State fighters returning home could commit terror attacks: Russia

Considerable attention has been paid to the Turkish invasion of Syria that took place in the first week of October. While Turkey entered into a ceasefire in a separate agreement with the USA, as well as, Russia since October 15-16, there remain serious international concerns about de-stabilisation of the already war-torn region and its implication for giving a flip to international terrorism. 
 
However, not much analysis has come out with regards to its security implications for India, which has the third-largest Muslim population in the world.&nbsp;

An analysis of the security implication of the Turkish invasion of Syria for India requires an understanding of the Turkish motives behind this illegal invasion. The fact that Turkish invasion took place on the eve of ‘official declaration of defeat of ISIS’ and withdrawal of American troops from Syria on the pretext of fighting YPG, the Kurdish Peshmerga forces, which played crucial role in the defeat of ISIS speaks volume about the mal-intentions of the Erdogan regime: (A) Erdogan’s grip over his countrymen is declining as evident from the loss of Istanbul mayor election in view of rising economic&nbsp;crisis, as well as, growing level of sectarian conflict within the country. This invasion was meant to divert people’s attention from this internal mess; B) This invasion is linked with his personal ambition to showcase himself as emerging Caliph of the Muslim world; C) The Erdogan regime derives its strength from the ‘politics of blackmailing’; A perennial destabilised Syria with a potential to ‘export refugee’ allows the Erdogan regime to bargain with Europe in particular and the West in general, (D) To bring a demographic change by transferring the millions of Syrian refugees, who are living inside Turkey, into the autonomous Kurdish region along the Syrian-Turkish border so that the issue of Kurdistan ceased to pose a threat to Turkish territorial integrity. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

In the light of the above motives, the Turkish invasion of Syrian territory raises the following security implications for India : (A) By all account, the invasion led to freeing up the jailed ISIS terrorists, which were being controlled by YPG Kurdish forces ; the freeing of ISIS terrorists has serious implication for coordinating the global terrorist activities, particularly in the AfPak area which runs into the troubled Kashmir; (B) Erdogan himself has emerged as source of Islamicist radicalism; (C) The global ambition of Erdogan of assuming the mantles of Caliph has led him to hold every year an international conference on Muslim minority population. Indian Muslims often figure in this conference as an oppressed entity; (D) Erdogan’s utterances on Kashmir in his UN speech and his blind support to Pakistan on the issue raised a prospect of ‘Islamic alliance’ against India.

India needs to be vigilant and must not allow Turkish nefarious design to affect its peace and stability.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) &nbsp;

&nbsp;

Considerable attention has been paid to the Turkish invasion of Syria that took place in the first week of October. While Turkey entered into a ceasefire in a separate agreement with the USA, as well as, Russia since October 15-16, there remain serious international concerns about de-stabilisation of the already war-torn region and its implication for giving a flip to international terrorism.

Considerable attention has been paid to the Turkish invasion of Syria that took place in the first week of October. While Turkey entered into a ceasefire in a separate agreement with the USA, as well as, Russia since October 15-16, there remain serious international concerns about de-stabilisation of the already war-torn region and its implication for giving a flip to international terrorism. However, not much analysis has come out with regards to its security implications for India, which has the third-largest Muslim population in the world. An analysis of the security implication of the Turkish invasion of Syria for India requires an understanding of the Turkish motives behind this illegal invasion. The fact that Turkish invasion took place on the eve of ‘official declaration of defeat of ISIS’ and withdrawal of American troops from Syria on the pretext of fighting YPG, the Kurdish Peshmerga forces, which played crucial role in the defeat of ISIS speaks volume about the mal-intentions of the Erdogan regime: (A) Erdogan’s grip over his countrymen is declining as evident from the loss of Istanbul mayor election in view of rising economic crisis, as well as, growing level of sectarian conflict within the country. This invasion was meant to divert people’s attention from this internal mess; B) This invasion is linked with his personal ambition to showcase himself as emerging Caliph of the Muslim world; C) The Erdogan regime derives its strength from the ‘politics of blackmailing’; A perennial destabilised Syria with a potential to ‘export refugee’ allows the Erdogan regime to bargain with Europe in particular and the West in general, (D) To bring a demographic change by transferring the millions of Syrian refugees, who are living inside Turkey, into the autonomous Kurdish region along the Syrian-Turkish border so that the issue of Kurdistan ceased to pose a threat to Turkish territorial integrity. In the light of the above motives, the Turkish invasion of Syrian territory raises the following security implications for India : (A) By all account, the invasion led to freeing up the jailed ISIS terrorists, which were being controlled by YPG Kurdish forces ; the freeing of ISIS terrorists has serious implication for coordinating the global terrorist activities, particularly in the AfPak area which runs into the troubled Kashmir; (B) Erdogan himself has emerged as source of Islamicist radicalism; (C) The global ambition of Erdogan of assuming the mantles of Caliph has led him to hold every year an international conference on Muslim minority population. Indian Muslims often figure in this conference as an oppressed entity; (D) Erdogan’s utterances on Kashmir in his UN speech and his blind support to Pakistan on the issue raised a prospect of ‘Islamic alliance’ against India. India needs to be vigilant and must not allow Turkish nefarious design to affect its peace and stability. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Examining security implications of Turkish invasion of Syria

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday the United States was not fulfilling its pledge to remove a Kurdish militia from a Syrian border region and he will raise the issue <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkeys-erdogan-speaks-with-trump-to-visit-washington-next-week-260443">when he meets President Donald Trump next week</a>.

A month ago, Turkey launched a cross-border offensive with Syrian rebels against Kurdish YPG fighters and after seizing control of a 120 km swathe of territory reached a deal with the United States to keep them out of that area.

Erdogan is set to discuss the implementation of the agreement with Trump in Washington on November&nbsp;13 after confirming that the visit would go ahead following a phone call between the leaders overnight.

"While we hold these talks, those who promised us that the YPG...would withdraw from here within 120 hours have not achieved this," he told a news conference, referring to a deadline set in last month's agreement.

Turkish officials had previously said Erdogan might call off the US&nbsp;visit in protest at US.House of Representatives' votes to recognise mass killings of Armenians a century ago as genocide and to seek sanctions on Turkey.

After the deal with Washington, Ankara also reached an agreement with Moscow under which the YPG was to withdraw to a depth of 30 km along the entirety of the northeastern Syrian border with Turkey.

But Erdogan said this deal had also not been fulfilled, with YPG fighters still in the border strip, adding that he would hold talks with Putin soon on the issue.

Clashes&nbsp;in&nbsp;Syria

Speaking to reporters before leaving on a visit to Hungary, Erdogan said clashes in Syria were continuing, with 11 fighters from the Turkey-backed rebel Syrian National Army (SNA) killed on Thursday.

"These terrorists are attacking the SNA, and the SNA is retaliating in kind. There are 11 martyrs from the SNA this morning. Many more were killed on the other side," he said.

Under the two bilateral deals, Ankara stopped its offensive in return for the withdrawal of the YPG fighters. Turkish and Russian soldiers have so far held two joint patrols near the border to monitor implementation of their agreement.

Ankara considers the YPG a terrorist group because of its ties to militants who have fought an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984. US&nbsp;support for the YPG, which was a main ally in the fight against Islamic State, has infuriated Turkey.

Ankara began its offensive against the YPG after Trump announced an abrupt withdrawal of 1,000 US&nbsp;troops from northern Syria in early October. The US&nbsp;president has since said that some troops will continue to operate there.

Late on Wednesday, the commander of the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces said the group was resuming work with the US-led coalition against Islamic State in Syria.

"As a result of series of meetings with Coalition leaders, #SDF is resuming its joint programme of work with the Coalition to combat #ISIS and securing the infrastructure of NE #Syria," Mazloum Kobani wrote on Twitter.

Turkish sources say Trump and Erdogan have a strong bond despite anger in Congress over Turkey's Syria offensive and its purchase of Russian air defences, and despite what Ankara sees as the US&nbsp;president's own erratic pronouncements.

Those personal ties could prove crucial, given NATO member Turkey's purchase of Moscow's S-400 missile defence system, which under US&nbsp;law should trigger sanctions.

Turkey has already been suspended from the F-35 fighter jet programme in which it was both joint producer and customer, and the offensive it launched against Kurdish forces in northeast Syria on October&nbsp;9 set the stage for further US&nbsp;retaliation.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday the United States was not fulfilling its pledge to remove a Kurdish militia from a Syrian border region and he will raise the issue when he meets President Donald Trump next week.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday the United States was not fulfilling its pledge to remove a Kurdish militia from a Syrian border region and he will raise the issue when he meets President Donald Trump next week. A month ago, Turkey launched a cross-border offensive with Syrian rebels against Kurdish YPG fighters and after seizing control of a 120 km swathe of territory reached a deal with the United States to keep them out of that area. Erdogan is set to discuss the implementation of the agreement with Trump in Washington on November 13 after confirming that the visit would go ahead following a phone call between the leaders overnight. "While we hold these talks, those who promised us that the YPG...would withdraw from here within 120 hours have not achieved this," he told a news conference, referring to a deadline set in last month's agreement. Turkish officials had previously said Erdogan might call off the US visit in protest at US.House of Representatives' votes to recognise mass killings of Armenians a century ago as genocide and to seek sanctions on Turkey. After the deal with Washington, Ankara also reached an agreement with Moscow under which the YPG was to withdraw to a depth of 30 km along the entirety of the northeastern Syrian border with Turkey. But Erdogan said this deal had also not been fulfilled, with YPG fighters still in the border strip, adding that he would hold talks with Putin soon on the issue. Clashes in Syria Speaking to reporters before leaving on a visit to Hungary, Erdogan said clashes in Syria were continuing, with 11 fighters from the Turkey-backed rebel Syrian National Army (SNA) killed on Thursday. "These terrorists are attacking the SNA, and the SNA is retaliating in kind. There are 11 martyrs from the SNA this morning. Many more were killed on the other side," he said. Under the two bilateral deals, Ankara stopped its offensive in return for the withdrawal of the YPG fighters. Turkish and Russian soldiers have so far held two joint patrols near the border to monitor implementation of their agreement. Ankara considers the YPG a terrorist group because of its ties to militants who have fought an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984. US support for the YPG, which was a main ally in the fight against Islamic State, has infuriated Turkey. Ankara began its offensive against the YPG after Trump announced an abrupt withdrawal of 1,000 US troops from northern Syria in early October. The US president has since said that some troops will continue to operate there. Late on Wednesday, the commander of the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces said the group was resuming work with the US-led coalition against Islamic State in Syria. "As a result of series of meetings with Coalition leaders, #SDF is resuming its joint programme of work with the Coalition to combat #ISIS and securing the infrastructure of NE #Syria," Mazloum Kobani wrote on Twitter. Turkish sources say Trump and Erdogan have a strong bond despite anger in Congress over Turkey's Syria offensive and its purchase of Russian air defences, and despite what Ankara sees as the US president's own erratic pronouncements. Those personal ties could prove crucial, given NATO member Turkey's purchase of Moscow's S-400 missile defence system, which under US law should trigger sanctions. Turkey has already been suspended from the F-35 fighter jet programme in which it was both joint producer and customer, and the offensive it launched against Kurdish forces in northeast Syria on October 9 set the stage for further US retaliation.

Ahead of talks with Trump, Erdogan says United States not fulfilling Syria deal

By John Broich

Since US troops left their region, roughly 180,000 Kurds of northeastern Syria have been displaced, and over 200 have been killed.

Those Kurds, soldiers who’d battled the Islamic State and families, had hoped to secure a future Kurdistan state in areas now targeted by Turkish warplanes and patrolled by Russian mercenaries.

This is only the latest reversal for the Kurds, a group of around 40 million who identify with a regional homeland and common historical background, but are now divided between four countries. Despite their many attempts, there’ve never won and kept a Kurdish nation.

Drawing borders after WWI

The most decisive reversal came at the end of the first World War. That’s when the Allies, victors over Germany and the Ottoman Empire, divided their geographical spoils of war.

In a series of conferences in a succession of European palaces, Prime Minister David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau of France, Woodrow Wilson and dozens of other leaders conspired, harangued and horse-traded from 1919 to 1921. Under clouds of cigar smoke, between servings of foie gras and champagne, they redrew a large swath of the globe’s map.

Besides doling out spoils to themselves, such as far-flung German imperial holdings, their aims were to replace the Austro-Hungarian Empire, punish Germany in Europe and – the biggest task – fill the vacuum left by the demise of the sprawling Ottoman Empire, which before the war covered territory from the edge of Bulgaria to Yemen.

Their guiding principle for redrawing the map, at least in most cases, was the reigning concept of race nationalism, what’s often called today ethno-nationalism.

Simply put, the Allies’ delegates assumed that nation states should be composed as much as possible by single “races,” single ethnic and linguistic populations. So, they defined, in some ways created, new races – like, for example, Hungarians or Austrians – and drew borders around them.

Who should receive an ethno-state?

What to do in the big, central zone of the defeated Ottoman Empire, stretching between the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf?

Should there be one big, Greater Arabia or Arab federation, as some British officials promised their Arab allies who revolted against the Ottomans? Should there be many little nations, with borders around Christian Arabs, Muslim Arabs, Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds? (Following their race-nation instinct, the British did support what they called a new “National Home for the Jewish people” in former Ottoman Palestine.)

That, too, is what President Woodrow Wilson’s call for self-determination dictated. Wilson himself was explicit in calling for a new, broadly encompassing Kurdistan.

They took for granted that Kurds were a race and that Kurdistan was a place. In fact, it was already depicted in pre-WWI atlases. The problem of drawing its borders fell, British Parliamentarians told themselves, to them in immediate postwar years. And it’s what some powerful people in British officialdom assumed would happen.

Not only did it fit British race thinking to create Kurdistan – to be heavily staffed by British “advisers” like the other new states, of course – but they believed the Kurds truculent and independent, unlikely to accede to domination by a neighbour.

They would “never accept an Arab ruler,” in the words of one British Colonial Office official, if they were embedded in an Arab nation.

A missed opportunity

But the Allies and the League of Nations never created Kurdistan. Why not?

British imperial self-interest, in this case, overruled ethnonational thinking. By the terms of the Sykes-Picot agreement, the secret French and British understanding of roughly who would get what after the war, the French claimed dominance of the northern Levant, what’s today Lebanon and Syria.

The British wanted a big geographical bloc in the region to match that of the French, to act as a counterweight. They formalized this by inventing a large country soon dubbed “Iraq.”

The line dividing Sykes-Picot’s French sphere and British sphere already cut straight through Kurdish areas. That partition was part of the reason why the British could not simply carve out a new, large Kurdistan (that they’d dominate like Iraq).

For another, British colonial officials, like the famous writer-turned-colonial administrator Gertrude Bell, wanted a Kurdish population retained in the new Iraq as a counterbalance to its large Shiite population, which was deemed seditious.

This represented classic British imperial thinking long employed in places like India: divide and conquer. The Kurds might not be particularly docile or loyal to the British, but they could be counted on not to unite with the Arabs or Assyrians, either, and throw off British meddling.

The British, too, suspected there were large oilfields under the important Kurdish capital of Mosul. Better to keep the Mosul region securely within Iraq, some leaders judged.

That colonial-era behavior had a recent analog, when President Donald Trump said that the Kurds could be allowed to remain near oilfields in far eastern Syria to protect them against the Islamic State. They’re still useful, it seems, for maintaining order above oil.

The roots of the trouble with Turkey 
 
The Allies’ last, half-hearted attempt to create at least a small Kurdistan took place during yet another conference of the Allies in the Paris suburb of Sèvres in 1920.

Planned for eastern Anatolia, or Asia Minor, squeezed into borders to which the Kurds objected as too little, this Kurdistan came to naught. The new, revolutionary nationalists in Turkey wanted their own race-nation of Turks. And they did not want Anatolia chopped up for the sake of Kurds or Armenians. They’d simply have to become Turks, too, or face the consequences.

From 1920, the new Turkish Army occupied what was to become the little Kurdistan, and the Allies had no will to challenge them. The last hope that WWI’s victors would create even a fractional Kurdistan disappeared without fanfare.

But the Kurds didn’t stop – have never stopped – resisting. When the British lumped them into their invented country of Iraq, the Kurds naturally revolted in 1919. When a delegation of British colonial authorities arrived to parley with the Kurdish leader, Sheikh Mahmoud Barzinji, the man calmly quoted Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, with its call for the “autonomous development” of the peoples formerly dominated by the Ottoman Empire. The British responded with two brigades.

Now, as then, it seems world powers support Kurd’s self-determination only until it’s no longer expedient.

(John Broich is Associate Professor, Case Western Reserve University)

(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-there-is-no-kurdish-nation-126243">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 John Broich Since US troops left their region, roughly 180,000 Kurds of northeastern Syria have been displaced, and over 200 have been killed. Those Kurds, soldiers who’d battled the Islamic State and families, had hoped to secure a future Kurdistan state in areas now targeted by Turkish warplanes and patrolled by Russian mercenaries.

By John Broich Since US troops left their region, roughly 180,000 Kurds of northeastern Syria have been displaced, and over 200 have been killed. Those Kurds, soldiers who’d battled the Islamic State and families, had hoped to secure a future Kurdistan state in areas now targeted by Turkish warplanes and patrolled by Russian mercenaries. This is only the latest reversal for the Kurds, a group of around 40 million who identify with a regional homeland and common historical background, but are now divided between four countries. Despite their many attempts, there’ve never won and kept a Kurdish nation. Drawing borders after WWI The most decisive reversal came at the end of the first World War. That’s when the Allies, victors over Germany and the Ottoman Empire, divided their geographical spoils of war. In a series of conferences in a succession of European palaces, Prime Minister David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau of France, Woodrow Wilson and dozens of other leaders conspired, harangued and horse-traded from 1919 to 1921. Under clouds of cigar smoke, between servings of foie gras and champagne, they redrew a large swath of the globe’s map. Besides doling out spoils to themselves, such as far-flung German imperial holdings, their aims were to replace the Austro-Hungarian Empire, punish Germany in Europe and – the biggest task – fill the vacuum left by the demise of the sprawling Ottoman Empire, which before the war covered territory from the edge of Bulgaria to Yemen. Their guiding principle for redrawing the map, at least in most cases, was the reigning concept of race nationalism, what’s often called today ethno-nationalism. Simply put, the Allies’ delegates assumed that nation states should be composed as much as possible by single “races,” single ethnic and linguistic populations. So, they defined, in some ways created, new races – like, for example, Hungarians or Austrians – and drew borders around them. Who should receive an ethno-state? What to do in the big, central zone of the defeated Ottoman Empire, stretching between the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf? Should there be one big, Greater Arabia or Arab federation, as some British officials promised their Arab allies who revolted against the Ottomans? Should there be many little nations, with borders around Christian Arabs, Muslim Arabs, Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds? (Following their race-nation instinct, the British did support what they called a new “National Home for the Jewish people” in former Ottoman Palestine.) That, too, is what President Woodrow Wilson’s call for self-determination dictated. Wilson himself was explicit in calling for a new, broadly encompassing Kurdistan. They took for granted that Kurds were a race and that Kurdistan was a place. In fact, it was already depicted in pre-WWI atlases. The problem of drawing its borders fell, British Parliamentarians told themselves, to them in immediate postwar years. And it’s what some powerful people in British officialdom assumed would happen. Not only did it fit British race thinking to create Kurdistan – to be heavily staffed by British “advisers” like the other new states, of course – but they believed the Kurds truculent and independent, unlikely to accede to domination by a neighbour. They would “never accept an Arab ruler,” in the words of one British Colonial Office official, if they were embedded in an Arab nation. A missed opportunity But the Allies and the League of Nations never created Kurdistan. Why not? British imperial self-interest, in this case, overruled ethnonational thinking. By the terms of the Sykes-Picot agreement, the secret French and British understanding of roughly who would get what after the war, the French claimed dominance of the northern Levant, what’s today Lebanon and Syria. The British wanted a big geographical bloc in the region to match that of the French, to act as a counterweight. They formalized this by inventing a large country soon dubbed “Iraq.” The line dividing Sykes-Picot’s French sphere and British sphere already cut straight through Kurdish areas. That partition was part of the reason why the British could not simply carve out a new, large Kurdistan (that they’d dominate like Iraq). For another, British colonial officials, like the famous writer-turned-colonial administrator Gertrude Bell, wanted a Kurdish population retained in the new Iraq as a counterbalance to its large Shiite population, which was deemed seditious. This represented classic British imperial thinking long employed in places like India: divide and conquer. The Kurds might not be particularly docile or loyal to the British, but they could be counted on not to unite with the Arabs or Assyrians, either, and throw off British meddling. The British, too, suspected there were large oilfields under the important Kurdish capital of Mosul. Better to keep the Mosul region securely within Iraq, some leaders judged. That colonial-era behavior had a recent analog, when President Donald Trump said that the Kurds could be allowed to remain near oilfields in far eastern Syria to protect them against the Islamic State. They’re still useful, it seems, for maintaining order above oil. The roots of the trouble with Turkey The Allies’ last, half-hearted attempt to create at least a small Kurdistan took place during yet another conference of the Allies in the Paris suburb of Sèvres in 1920. Planned for eastern Anatolia, or Asia Minor, squeezed into borders to which the Kurds objected as too little, this Kurdistan came to naught. The new, revolutionary nationalists in Turkey wanted their own race-nation of Turks. And they did not want Anatolia chopped up for the sake of Kurds or Armenians. They’d simply have to become Turks, too, or face the consequences. From 1920, the new Turkish Army occupied what was to become the little Kurdistan, and the Allies had no will to challenge them. The last hope that WWI’s victors would create even a fractional Kurdistan disappeared without fanfare. But the Kurds didn’t stop – have never stopped – resisting. When the British lumped them into their invented country of Iraq, the Kurds naturally revolted in 1919. When a delegation of British colonial authorities arrived to parley with the Kurdish leader, Sheikh Mahmoud Barzinji, the man calmly quoted Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, with its call for the “autonomous development” of the peoples formerly dominated by the Ottoman Empire. The British responded with two brigades. Now, as then, it seems world powers support Kurd’s self-determination only until it’s no longer expedient. (John Broich is Associate Professor, Case Western Reserve 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)

Why there is no Kurdish nation

Turkish and Russian troops on Tuesday began their second joint patrol in northern Syria near Kobani, under a deal that has forced a Kurdish militia away from Turkey's border, while local media released footage of angry crowds pelting a convoy with stones.

Nearly a month ago, Turkey and Syrian rebel allies launched a cross-border incursion against Kurdish YPG fighters, seizing control of 120 km (75 miles) of land along the frontier.

Under a subsequent deal, Russia and Turkey agreed to push the YPG militia to a depth of at least 30 km (19 miles) south of the border and to hold joint patrols to monitor the agreement.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that the YPG had not withdrawn from that planned "safe zone", despite Turkey's agreements with both Russia and the United States.

Ankara considers the YPG - which helped the United States smash the Islamic State caliphate in Syria - a terrorist group because of its ties to militants who have waged an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984.

Tuesday's patrol was launched 7 km (4.4 miles) east of Kobani, a Syrian border town of special significance to the YPG, which fought off Islamic State militants trying to seize it in 2014-15 in one of the fiercest battles of the Syrian war.

Armoured vehicles crossed through a gap in the border wall to the Syrian side and headed east, a witness said. Security sources said the patrol would cover a distance of 72 km (45 miles) at a depth of 5 km (3 miles) from the border.

Near Kobani, crowds pelted passing Turkish and Russian armoured vehicles of the patrol with stones from a roadside and chanted slogans, footage from local North Press Agency showed.

Several dozen people managed to stop two Russian armoured vehicles and some of them climbed onto one of the cars with Russian military police insignia, a video released by local news outlet Anha showed.

The Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday there were no incidents during the patrol mission.

The Turkish Defence Ministry shared photos on Twitter showing Turkish and Russian soldiers meeting at the border and studying maps before the start of the patrol. It said drones were also taking part.

Russia is the Syrian government's most powerful ally and since 2015 has helped it retake much of the country from rebels, turning the tide in the civil war. The Turkish-Russian deal enabled Syrian government forces to move back into border regions from which they had been absent for years.

Russian military police arrived in Kobani on Oct. 23 under the deal reached by Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The first patrol, on Friday, was held around the Syrian border town of Darbasiya, east of the region from where Turkish and their Syrian rebel allies forced out the YPG fighters.&nbsp;

Erdogan said last week that Turkey planned to establish a "refugee town or towns" in that region between Tel Abyad and Ras al Ain, part of a project that state media have said would cost 151 billion lira ($26 billion).

Ankara launched its offensive against the YPG following President Donald Trump's abrupt withdrawal of 1,000 US&nbsp;troops from northern Syria in early October.

Turkish and Russian troops on Tuesday began their second joint patrol in northern Syria near Kobani, under a deal that has forced a Kurdish militia away from Turkey's border, while local media released footage of angry crowds pelting a convoy with stones.

Turkish and Russian troops on Tuesday began their second joint patrol in northern Syria near Kobani, under a deal that has forced a Kurdish militia away from Turkey's border, while local media released footage of angry crowds pelting a convoy with stones. Nearly a month ago, Turkey and Syrian rebel allies launched a cross-border incursion against Kurdish YPG fighters, seizing control of 120 km (75 miles) of land along the frontier. Under a subsequent deal, Russia and Turkey agreed to push the YPG militia to a depth of at least 30 km (19 miles) south of the border and to hold joint patrols to monitor the agreement. President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that the YPG had not withdrawn from that planned "safe zone", despite Turkey's agreements with both Russia and the United States. Ankara considers the YPG - which helped the United States smash the Islamic State caliphate in Syria - a terrorist group because of its ties to militants who have waged an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984. Tuesday's patrol was launched 7 km (4.4 miles) east of Kobani, a Syrian border town of special significance to the YPG, which fought off Islamic State militants trying to seize it in 2014-15 in one of the fiercest battles of the Syrian war. Armoured vehicles crossed through a gap in the border wall to the Syrian side and headed east, a witness said. Security sources said the patrol would cover a distance of 72 km (45 miles) at a depth of 5 km (3 miles) from the border. Near Kobani, crowds pelted passing Turkish and Russian armoured vehicles of the patrol with stones from a roadside and chanted slogans, footage from local North Press Agency showed. Several dozen people managed to stop two Russian armoured vehicles and some of them climbed onto one of the cars with Russian military police insignia, a video released by local news outlet Anha showed. The Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday there were no incidents during the patrol mission. The Turkish Defence Ministry shared photos on Twitter showing Turkish and Russian soldiers meeting at the border and studying maps before the start of the patrol. It said drones were also taking part. Russia is the Syrian government's most powerful ally and since 2015 has helped it retake much of the country from rebels, turning the tide in the civil war. The Turkish-Russian deal enabled Syrian government forces to move back into border regions from which they had been absent for years. Russian military police arrived in Kobani on Oct. 23 under the deal reached by Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The first patrol, on Friday, was held around the Syrian border town of Darbasiya, east of the region from where Turkish and their Syrian rebel allies forced out the YPG fighters. Erdogan said last week that Turkey planned to establish a "refugee town or towns" in that region between Tel Abyad and Ras al Ain, part of a project that state media have said would cost 151 billion lira ($26 billion). Ankara launched its offensive against the YPG following President Donald Trump's abrupt withdrawal of 1,000 US troops from northern Syria in early October.

Crowd pelts with stones Turkish-Russian patrol in Syria: State media

Turkey captured the sister of dead Islamic State leader <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/islamic-state-vows-revenge-against-united-states-for-killing-baghdadi-259266">Abu Bakr al-Baghdad</a>i on Monday in the northern Syrian town of Azaz, a senior Turkish official told Reuters, and is interrogating her husband and daughter-in-law who were also detained.

Rasmiya Awad, 65, was detained in a raid near Azaz, the official said, referring to a Turkish-controlled Syrian town near the border. When captured, she was also accompanied by five children.

"We hope to gather a trove of intelligence from Baghdadi’s sister on the inner workings of ISIS," the official said.

Little independent information is available on Baghdadi's sister and Reuters was not immediately able to verify if the captured individual was her.

Baghdadi killed himself last month when cornered in a tunnel during a raid by US special forces in northwestern Syria. Islamic State, in an audio tape posted online on Thursday, confirmed that its leader had died and vowed revenge against the United States.

Baghdadi had risen from obscurity to lead the ultra-hardline group and declare himself "caliph" of all Muslims, holding sway over huge areas of Iraq and Syria from 2014-2017 before Islamic State's control was wrested away by US-led coalition forces including Iraqis and Syrian Kurds.

The group, also known as ISIS, said a successor to Baghdadi identified as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi had been appointed. A senior U.S. official last week said Washington was looking at the new leader to determine where he came from.

World leaders welcomed his death, but they and security experts warned that the group, which carried out atrocities against religious minorities and horrified most Muslims, remained a security threat in Syria and beyond.

Turkey captured the sister of dead Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Monday in the northern Syrian town of Azaz, a senior Turkish official told Reuters, and is interrogating her husband and daughter-in-law who were also detained.

Turkey captured the sister of dead Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Monday in the northern Syrian town of Azaz, a senior Turkish official told Reuters, and is interrogating her husband and daughter-in-law who were also detained. Rasmiya Awad, 65, was detained in a raid near Azaz, the official said, referring to a Turkish-controlled Syrian town near the border. When captured, she was also accompanied by five children. "We hope to gather a trove of intelligence from Baghdadi’s sister on the inner workings of ISIS," the official said. Little independent information is available on Baghdadi's sister and Reuters was not immediately able to verify if the captured individual was her. Baghdadi killed himself last month when cornered in a tunnel during a raid by US special forces in northwestern Syria. Islamic State, in an audio tape posted online on Thursday, confirmed that its leader had died and vowed revenge against the United States. Baghdadi had risen from obscurity to lead the ultra-hardline group and declare himself "caliph" of all Muslims, holding sway over huge areas of Iraq and Syria from 2014-2017 before Islamic State's control was wrested away by US-led coalition forces including Iraqis and Syrian Kurds. The group, also known as ISIS, said a successor to Baghdadi identified as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi had been appointed. A senior U.S. official last week said Washington was looking at the new leader to determine where he came from. World leaders welcomed his death, but they and security experts warned that the group, which carried out atrocities against religious minorities and horrified most Muslims, remained a security threat in Syria and beyond.

Turkey captures sister of dead IS leader in Syria: Turkish official

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia had not withdrawn from a planned "safe zone" in northeast <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/erdogan-says-turkey-to-launch-military-operation-in-northeast-syria-254000">Syria </a>despite Turkey's agreements with the United States and Russia.

Turkey struck two separate deals with the United States and Russia for the YPG, which Ankara views as a terrorist group, to withdraw from the "safe zone" it plans to form in northeastern Syria.

While Washington and Moscow have said the fighters left, Erdogan has said this was not the case.

Speaking to lawmakers from his AK Party in Ankara, Erdogan said YPG fighters remained in Tel Rifaat, Manbij and to the east of Ras al Ain, which Turkey targeted in its latest incursion.

He also said Turkey would abide by its deals as long as the United States and Russia kept their own promises.

He later told reporters in parliament that US&nbsp;forces were still holding joint patrols with the YPG inside the 30-km border strip from which the militia was meant to withdraw.

"How can we explain America holding patrols with terrorist organisations in this region even though they made the decision to withdraw? This is not in our agreement," he said.

Ankara considers the YPG a terrorist group tied to militants who have waged an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984. US&nbsp;support for the YPG, which was the main ally in the fight against the Islamic State, has infuriated Turkey.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia had not withdrawn from a planned "safe zone" in northeast Syria despite Turkey's agreements with the United States and Russia.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia had not withdrawn from a planned "safe zone" in northeast Syria despite Turkey's agreements with the United States and Russia. Turkey struck two separate deals with the United States and Russia for the YPG, which Ankara views as a terrorist group, to withdraw from the "safe zone" it plans to form in northeastern Syria. While Washington and Moscow have said the fighters left, Erdogan has said this was not the case. Speaking to lawmakers from his AK Party in Ankara, Erdogan said YPG fighters remained in Tel Rifaat, Manbij and to the east of Ras al Ain, which Turkey targeted in its latest incursion. He also said Turkey would abide by its deals as long as the United States and Russia kept their own promises. He later told reporters in parliament that US forces were still holding joint patrols with the YPG inside the 30-km border strip from which the militia was meant to withdraw. "How can we explain America holding patrols with terrorist organisations in this region even though they made the decision to withdraw? This is not in our agreement," he said. Ankara considers the YPG a terrorist group tied to militants who have waged an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984. US support for the YPG, which was the main ally in the fight against the Islamic State, has infuriated Turkey.

Kurdish fighters have not left Syria 'safe zone' despite US, Russia deals: Erdogan

Turkey will send captured Islamic State members back to their countries even if their citizenships have been revoked, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Monday, criticising the approach of European countries on the issue.

Turkey launched an offensive into northeastern Syria against the Kurdish YPG militia last month following a decision by US&nbsp;President Donald Trump to withdraw troops from the region. The move prompted widespread concern over the fate of Islamic State prisoners in the region.

The YPG is the main element of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which has been a leading US&nbsp;ally in beating back Islamic State in the region and has kept thousands of jihadists in jails across northeastern Syria. The United States and Turkey's Western allies have said Ankara's offensive could hinder the fight against Islamic State and aid its resurgence.

Turkey, which views the YPG as a terrorist group linked with insurgent Kurdish militants on its own soil, has rejected those concerns and vowed to combat Islamic State with its allies. It has repeatedly called on European countries to take back their citizens fighting for the jihadists.

Speaking to reporters, Soylu said Turkey would send back any captured Islamic State fighters to their countries even if their citizenships are revoked.

"We will send back those in our hands, but the world has come up with a new method now: revoking their citizenships," Soylu said. "They are saying they should be tried where they have been caught. This is a new form of international law, I guess."

"It is not possible to accept this. We will send back Daesh (Islamic State) members in our hands to their own countries whether they revoke their citizenships or not," he said.

Soylu had warned at the weekend that Turkey would send back Islamic State members captured by Turkey to their home countries and complained of European inaction on the matter.

The United States said last month that it had killed Islamic State's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northwestern Syria, where Turkey and Russia have troops. While Baghdadi's death was hailed by world leaders, including Turkey, the group has vowed revenge against the United States.

Turkey will send captured Islamic State members back to their countries even if their citizenships have been revoked, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Monday, criticising the approach of European countries on the issue.

Turkey will send captured Islamic State members back to their countries even if their citizenships have been revoked, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Monday, criticising the approach of European countries on the issue. Turkey launched an offensive into northeastern Syria against the Kurdish YPG militia last month following a decision by US President Donald Trump to withdraw troops from the region. The move prompted widespread concern over the fate of Islamic State prisoners in the region. The YPG is the main element of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which has been a leading US ally in beating back Islamic State in the region and has kept thousands of jihadists in jails across northeastern Syria. The United States and Turkey's Western allies have said Ankara's offensive could hinder the fight against Islamic State and aid its resurgence. Turkey, which views the YPG as a terrorist group linked with insurgent Kurdish militants on its own soil, has rejected those concerns and vowed to combat Islamic State with its allies. It has repeatedly called on European countries to take back their citizens fighting for the jihadists. Speaking to reporters, Soylu said Turkey would send back any captured Islamic State fighters to their countries even if their citizenships are revoked. "We will send back those in our hands, but the world has come up with a new method now: revoking their citizenships," Soylu said. "They are saying they should be tried where they have been caught. This is a new form of international law, I guess." "It is not possible to accept this. We will send back Daesh (Islamic State) members in our hands to their own countries whether they revoke their citizenships or not," he said. Soylu had warned at the weekend that Turkey would send back Islamic State members captured by Turkey to their home countries and complained of European inaction on the matter. The United States said last month that it had killed Islamic State's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northwestern Syria, where Turkey and Russia have troops. While Baghdadi's death was hailed by world leaders, including Turkey, the group has vowed revenge against the United States.

Will send back Islamic State prisoners even if citizenships revoked: Turkey

At least 13 people were killed and more than 30 injured in the Syrian town of Tel Abyad on Turkey's border after a car bomb exploded in a market on November 2, according to Turkish state media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Explosion in Syria Kills 13 & Injures 30

At least 13 people have died Saturday in a car bomb blast near a market in a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/kurdish-commander-in-talks-with-russia-syria-but-has-no-confidence-259553">Syrian border town</a> controlled by Turkish forces, Ankara and a rights watchdog said.

"Based on first findings, 13 civilians were killed and around 20 others injured" in the explosion in the northeastern town of Tal Ayab, Turkey's defence ministry said in a statement.

It blamed the attack on the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia, which it sees as "terrorist" offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The PKK, which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, is blacklisted as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.

But the YPG under the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) banner spearheaded the fight against the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russian-airstrike-kills-six-civilians-in-syria-259490">Islamic State group</a> in Syria with US support.

Last month, Turkey launched an offensive in northern Syria against the YPG, which drew immediate international condemnation.

A 120-kilometre <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-registers-16-ceasefire-violations-in-syria-over-last-24-hours-259540">"safe zone"</a> area between the Syrian towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain was established as part of an October 17 deal between Ankara and Washington, involving a ceasefire and the YPG's full withdrawal from the stretch.

On Friday, Turkish troops began joint patrols with Russian forces in northern Syria to ensure the withdrawal of Kurdish fighters.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Saturday's explosion killed 14 civilians and Turkish-backed rebels.&nbsp;

The group did not comment on who was behind the attack.

At least 13 people have died Saturday in a car bomb blast near a market in a Syrian border town controlled by Turkish forces, Ankara and a rights watchdog said. "Based on first findings, 13 civilians were killed and around 20 others injured" in the explosion in the northeastern town of Tal Ayab, Turkey's defence ministry said in a statement.

At least 13 people have died Saturday in a car bomb blast near a market in a Syrian border town controlled by Turkish forces, Ankara and a rights watchdog said. "Based on first findings, 13 civilians were killed and around 20 others injured" in the explosion in the northeastern town of Tal Ayab, Turkey's defence ministry said in a statement. It blamed the attack on the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia, which it sees as "terrorist" offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The PKK, which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, is blacklisted as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies. But the YPG under the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) banner spearheaded the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria with US support. Last month, Turkey launched an offensive in northern Syria against the YPG, which drew immediate international condemnation. A 120-kilometre "safe zone" area between the Syrian towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain was established as part of an October 17 deal between Ankara and Washington, involving a ceasefire and the YPG's full withdrawal from the stretch. On Friday, Turkish troops began joint patrols with Russian forces in northern Syria to ensure the withdrawal of Kurdish fighters. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Saturday's explosion killed 14 civilians and Turkish-backed rebels. The group did not comment on who was behind the attack.

At least 13 dead in car bomb blast in Syria border town

The commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said he mistrusted both the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-registers-16-ceasefire-violations-in-syria-over-last-24-hours-259540">Syrian government and Russia</a>, but said in remarks published Saturday that he would follow "a political path" for the sake of peace.

Mazlum Abdi, also known as Kobani, told Italy's La Repubblica newspaper that future negotiations required guarantees from the international community, including Europe.

"We have no confidence, but it's not possible to solve Syria's problems without using the political path. We must negotiate," he said.

Until the United States pulled out of Syria the SDF, whose members are for the most part Kurds, enjoyed the support of a Washington-led coalition in its fight against the Islamic State group.

In the current negotiations, Abdi said Russia was acting as an intermediary between his group and the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"We will not be party to an agreement that does not include the defence of our people and its political, administrative and cultural liberty," he cautioned.

He said there had also been talks with the US government which had "offered guarantees but there is a certain slowness in applying these guarantees on the ground".

He condemned the US decision to pull out of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russian-airstrike-kills-six-civilians-in-syria-259490">Syria</a>, saying the move gave "the green light for the Turkish attack against our people" and violated agreements between his group and Washington.

The United States last month announced a pullout from Kurdish-held areas in northeast Syria, allowing Damascus, Ankara and Moscow to carve up the Kurds' now-defunct autonomous region.

Asked about Turkish President Recep Erdogan's wish to have him arrested, Abdi said "what else do you expect from a person who doesn't hide from the world his project to massacre our people".

Turkey and its Syrian proxies on October 9 launched a cross-border attack against Kurdish-held areas, grabbing a 120-kilometre-long&nbsp;swathe of Syrian land along the frontier.

The incursion killed hundreds and caused 300,000 people to flee their homes in the latest humanitarian disaster in Syria's brutal eight-year war.

Turkey and Russia then struck a deal in Sochi for more Kurdish forces to withdraw from the frontier on both sides of that Turkish-held area under the supervision of Russian and Syrian forces.

The commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said he mistrusted both the Syrian government and Russia, but said in remarks published Saturday that he would follow "a political path" for the sake of peace.

The commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said he mistrusted both the Syrian government and Russia, but said in remarks published Saturday that he would follow "a political path" for the sake of peace. Mazlum Abdi, also known as Kobani, told Italy's La Repubblica newspaper that future negotiations required guarantees from the international community, including Europe. "We have no confidence, but it's not possible to solve Syria's problems without using the political path. We must negotiate," he said. Until the United States pulled out of Syria the SDF, whose members are for the most part Kurds, enjoyed the support of a Washington-led coalition in its fight against the Islamic State group. In the current negotiations, Abdi said Russia was acting as an intermediary between his group and the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "We will not be party to an agreement that does not include the defence of our people and its political, administrative and cultural liberty," he cautioned. He said there had also been talks with the US government which had "offered guarantees but there is a certain slowness in applying these guarantees on the ground". He condemned the US decision to pull out of Syria, saying the move gave "the green light for the Turkish attack against our people" and violated agreements between his group and Washington. The United States last month announced a pullout from Kurdish-held areas in northeast Syria, allowing Damascus, Ankara and Moscow to carve up the Kurds' now-defunct autonomous region. Asked about Turkish President Recep Erdogan's wish to have him arrested, Abdi said "what else do you expect from a person who doesn't hide from the world his project to massacre our people". Turkey and its Syrian proxies on October 9 launched a cross-border attack against Kurdish-held areas, grabbing a 120-kilometre-long swathe of Syrian land along the frontier. The incursion killed hundreds and caused 300,000 people to flee their homes in the latest humanitarian disaster in Syria's brutal eight-year war. Turkey and Russia then struck a deal in Sochi for more Kurdish forces to withdraw from the frontier on both sides of that Turkish-held area under the supervision of Russian and Syrian forces.

Kurdish commander in talks with Russia, Syria but has 'no confidence'

The Russian side of the Russian-Turkish commission monitoring the implementation of the Syrian ceasefire has registered 16 truce breaches in the country over the past 24 hours, while the Turkish side has recorded 26 ceasefire violations, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday. 
 
"The Russian party of the Russia-Turkey joint commission reviewing issues related to violations of the ceasefire has registered 16 cases of firing in [Syrian] provinces, namely seven in Idlib, two in Aleppo, five in Latakia and two in Hama. The Turkish side has registered 26 cases of firing in [Syrian] provinces: six in Idlib, 14 in Latakia, four in Hama and two in Aleppo," the ministry said in its daily bulletin. 
 
According to the bulletin, the Russian military carried out no humanitarian operations over the given period. 
 
Meanwhile, almost 740 Syrian refugees have returned back home from Jordan and Lebanon over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for the Reconciliation of Opposing Sides and Refugee Migration Monitoring said. 
 
"Over the past 24 hours, a total of 739 refugees have returned to the Syrian Arab Republic from foreign countries: 171 people, including 51 women and 88 children, have returned from Lebanon via the Jaydet-Yabus and Talkalakh checkpoints, while 568 people, including 170 women and 290 children, have returned from Jordan via the Nassib checkpoint," the centre&nbsp;said in its daily bulletin. 
 
Since January 1, 2019, more than 36,000 refugees have returned back to Syria. 
 
As the Syrian government has regained control over most of the country's territories that were seized by terrorists, it is now focused on creating favourable conditions for repatriating refugees. Moscow is assisting Damascus in this process, along with providing humanitarian aid to civilians and being a guarantor of the ceasefire.

The Russian side of the Russian-Turkish commission monitoring the implementation of the Syrian ceasefire has registered 16 truce breaches in the country over the past 24 hours, while the Turkish side has recorded 26 ceasefire violations, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

The Russian side of the Russian-Turkish commission monitoring the implementation of the Syrian ceasefire has registered 16 truce breaches in the country over the past 24 hours, while the Turkish side has recorded 26 ceasefire violations, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday. "The Russian party of the Russia-Turkey joint commission reviewing issues related to violations of the ceasefire has registered 16 cases of firing in [Syrian] provinces, namely seven in Idlib, two in Aleppo, five in Latakia and two in Hama. The Turkish side has registered 26 cases of firing in [Syrian] provinces: six in Idlib, 14 in Latakia, four in Hama and two in Aleppo," the ministry said in its daily bulletin. According to the bulletin, the Russian military carried out no humanitarian operations over the given period. Meanwhile, almost 740 Syrian refugees have returned back home from Jordan and Lebanon over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for the Reconciliation of Opposing Sides and Refugee Migration Monitoring said. "Over the past 24 hours, a total of 739 refugees have returned to the Syrian Arab Republic from foreign countries: 171 people, including 51 women and 88 children, have returned from Lebanon via the Jaydet-Yabus and Talkalakh checkpoints, while 568 people, including 170 women and 290 children, have returned from Jordan via the Nassib checkpoint," the centre said in its daily bulletin. Since January 1, 2019, more than 36,000 refugees have returned back to Syria. As the Syrian government has regained control over most of the country's territories that were seized by terrorists, it is now focused on creating favourable conditions for repatriating refugees. Moscow is assisting Damascus in this process, along with providing humanitarian aid to civilians and being a guarantor of the ceasefire.

Russia registers 16 ceasefire violations in Syria over last 24 hours

The Turkish government said on Saturday it would send foreign <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-looking-at-new-islamic-state-leader-and-role-in-organisation-official-259422">Islamic State fighters</a> captured in Syria back to their countries of origin, despite the unwillingness of notably Europe states to take them in.

"We are not going to keep them until the end of time," Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters. "We're not a hotel for Daesh," he said, using another name for Islamic State.

He said Turkey would hold captured foreign fighters "for some time. After that, we'll send them back to their countries".

Soylu said EU countries including the Netherlands and Britain had stripped some of the fighters of their nationality to prevent Ankara from sending them home.

"They found an easy solution," he said. "They say 'I took his nationality away, it's your problem now'. That's unacceptable in our view, that's totally irresponsible. What do you want me to do with your terrorist?"

Turkey last month launched an offensive in north-eastern Syria against a Kurdish militia Turkey has branded "terrorists", but which was at the forefront in the fight against Islamic State with the backing of Western governments.

As part of the offensive, Turkey took Islamic State members into custody who had previously been held by the Kurds.

Others are said to have escaped from Syrian prisons in the chaos of the offensive.

The Turkish government regularly calls on European countries to repatriate their nationals belonging to <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/islamic-state-vows-revenge-against-united-states-for-killing-baghdadi-259266">Islamic State</a>, but many governments are dragging their feet, fearing a public backlash and security problems.

The Turkish government said on Saturday it would send foreign Islamic State fighters captured in Syria back to their countries of origin, despite the unwillingness of notably Europe states to take them in.

The Turkish government said on Saturday it would send foreign Islamic State fighters captured in Syria back to their countries of origin, despite the unwillingness of notably Europe states to take them in. "We are not going to keep them until the end of time," Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters. "We're not a hotel for Daesh," he said, using another name for Islamic State. He said Turkey would hold captured foreign fighters "for some time. After that, we'll send them back to their countries". Soylu said EU countries including the Netherlands and Britain had stripped some of the fighters of their nationality to prevent Ankara from sending them home. "They found an easy solution," he said. "They say 'I took his nationality away, it's your problem now'. That's unacceptable in our view, that's totally irresponsible. What do you want me to do with your terrorist?" Turkey last month launched an offensive in north-eastern Syria against a Kurdish militia Turkey has branded "terrorists", but which was at the forefront in the fight against Islamic State with the backing of Western governments. As part of the offensive, Turkey took Islamic State members into custody who had previously been held by the Kurds. Others are said to have escaped from Syrian prisons in the chaos of the offensive. The Turkish government regularly calls on European countries to repatriate their nationals belonging to Islamic State, but many governments are dragging their feet, fearing a public backlash and security problems.

Turkey to send back foreign Islamic State fighters

Iran signed a preliminary agreement with Syria on Saturday to help rebuild the Arab ally's electricity grid, Iranian state media reported, as Tehran seeks a deepening economic role after years of the Syrian conflict.

A memorandum of understanding signed by the two countries' electricity ministers in Tehran covered the construction of power plants, transmission lines, cutting losses in Syria's electricity network, and the possibility of connecting the two countries' grids through Iraq, the state news agency IRNA said.

The report did not give the value of the deal. IRNA quoted Syrian Electricity Minister Mohammad Zuhair Kharboutli as saying the country's grid had suffered damages of 50 per cent and that "Iran's role is important" in the reconstruction.

Shunned by Western powers, the Syrian government has looked to friendly states such as Iran, Russia and China to play a major role in rebuilding the country, as the war heads toward its ninth year.

Since at least 2012, Iran has provided critical military support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government, helping it regain control of swathes of the country. Iran experts have said Tehran is now hoping to reap a financial dividend.

Iran signed a preliminary agreement with Syria on Saturday to help rebuild the Arab ally's electricity grid, Iranian state media reported, as Tehran seeks a deepening economic role after years of the Syrian conflict.

Iran signed a preliminary agreement with Syria on Saturday to help rebuild the Arab ally's electricity grid, Iranian state media reported, as Tehran seeks a deepening economic role after years of the Syrian conflict. A memorandum of understanding signed by the two countries' electricity ministers in Tehran covered the construction of power plants, transmission lines, cutting losses in Syria's electricity network, and the possibility of connecting the two countries' grids through Iraq, the state news agency IRNA said. The report did not give the value of the deal. IRNA quoted Syrian Electricity Minister Mohammad Zuhair Kharboutli as saying the country's grid had suffered damages of 50 per cent and that "Iran's role is important" in the reconstruction. Shunned by Western powers, the Syrian government has looked to friendly states such as Iran, Russia and China to play a major role in rebuilding the country, as the war heads toward its ninth year. Since at least 2012, Iran has provided critical military support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government, helping it regain control of swathes of the country. Iran experts have said Tehran is now hoping to reap a financial dividend.

Iran strikes initial deal to rebuild Syrian power grid

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump said on Friday the ceasefire in northeastern <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions/could-congress-reverse-trumps-decision-to-pull-troops-out-of-syria-259451">Syria</a> where Turkey has sent in troops to clear the area of Syrian Kurdish militia forces has held very nicely.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump also said he had a very good relationship with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

Meanwhile, Turkish and Russian troops in armoured vehicles held their <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkey-russia-begin-joint-patrols-in-northern-syria-report-259271">first joint ground patrols in northeast Syria</a> on Friday under a deal between the two countries that forced a Kurdish militia away from territory near Turkey's border.

Turkey and allied Syrian rebels launched a cross-border offensive on October 9 against the Kurdish YPG militia, seizing control of 120 km (75 miles) of land along the frontier.

Last week, Ankara and Moscow agreed to remove the militia fighters to a depth of at least 30 km (19 miles) south of the border and Russia has told Turkey that the YPG left the strip.

Turkish armoured vehicles on Friday drove across the border to join their Russian counterparts, according to Reuters television footage filmed from the Turkish side of the border. Around four hours later, they returned to Turkey.

Ground and air units were involved in the patrol around the Syrian border town of Darbasiya, the Turkish Defence Ministry said on Twitter, showing photos of soldiers studying a map and of four armoured vehicles.

On Wednesday, President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey had information that the YPG, which Ankara sees as a terrorist group because of its ties to Kurdish militants in southeast Turkey, had not completed its pullout.

Russia is the Syrian government's most powerful ally and helped it turn the tables in the country`s civil war by retaking much of the country from rebels since 2015. The Turkish-Russian deal last week allowed Syrian government forces to move back into border regions from which they had been absent for years.

Ankara launched its offensive against the YPG following President Donald Trump's abrupt withdrawal of 1,000 U.S. troops from northern Syria in early October. The YPG helped the United States smash the Islamic State "caliphate" in Syria.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday the ceasefire in northeastern Syria where Turkey has sent in troops to clear the area of Syrian Kurdish militia forces has held very nicely.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday the ceasefire in northeastern Syria where Turkey has sent in troops to clear the area of Syrian Kurdish militia forces has held very nicely. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump also said he had a very good relationship with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Meanwhile, Turkish and Russian troops in armoured vehicles held their first joint ground patrols in northeast Syria on Friday under a deal between the two countries that forced a Kurdish militia away from territory near Turkey's border. Turkey and allied Syrian rebels launched a cross-border offensive on October 9 against the Kurdish YPG militia, seizing control of 120 km (75 miles) of land along the frontier. Last week, Ankara and Moscow agreed to remove the militia fighters to a depth of at least 30 km (19 miles) south of the border and Russia has told Turkey that the YPG left the strip. Turkish armoured vehicles on Friday drove across the border to join their Russian counterparts, according to Reuters television footage filmed from the Turkish side of the border. Around four hours later, they returned to Turkey. Ground and air units were involved in the patrol around the Syrian border town of Darbasiya, the Turkish Defence Ministry said on Twitter, showing photos of soldiers studying a map and of four armoured vehicles. On Wednesday, President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey had information that the YPG, which Ankara sees as a terrorist group because of its ties to Kurdish militants in southeast Turkey, had not completed its pullout. Russia is the Syrian government's most powerful ally and helped it turn the tables in the country`s civil war by retaking much of the country from rebels since 2015. The Turkish-Russian deal last week allowed Syrian government forces to move back into border regions from which they had been absent for years. Ankara launched its offensive against the YPG following President Donald Trump's abrupt withdrawal of 1,000 U.S. troops from northern Syria in early October. The YPG helped the United States smash the Islamic State "caliphate" in Syria.

Trump says ceasefire in northeastern Syria holding well

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Thursday said he did not want to make an "enemy" of neighbouring Turkey despite the stand-off between their forces in the north of the country.

Assad said however that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself was an "enemy" due to policies hostile to Syria and opposed by most of his country's political elite.

"We must ensure that we don't turn Turkey into an enemy and here comes the role of friends" such as Russia and Iran, the president said in a pre-recorded interview on state television.

Turkey supports Syrian rebel forces who have battled Assad's government during the eight-year-long war that has killed more than 370,000 people.&nbsp;

This month Ankara launched an operation across Syria's northern border against Kurdish forces.

The Kurds spearheaded a US-backed military campaign against the Islamic State group that deprived the jihadists' of their final slither of Syrian territory in March this year but Ankara views the Kurdish forces as "terrorists".&nbsp;

Abandoned by their ally Washington -- which early this month pulled its own troops back from the border area, effectively allowing Turkey to attack -- the Kurds turned to Damascus which swiftly deployed and reclaimed swathes of territory it lost years ago.

Assad said the deployment is a prelude to reinstating complete central government control over the region in a process he said would be "gradual" and would "respect new realities on the ground."&nbsp;

Turkey last week struck a deal with Russia to halt its &nbsp;weeks-long operation&nbsp;

The agreement calls for the withdrawal of Syrian Kurdish fighters from areas along Turkey's border with Syria, with a view to setting up a "safe zone" where Ankara plans to repatriate some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees it currently hosts.

Joint Turkish-Russian patrols are due to start in areas near the Syrian border on Friday after the Kremlin said that Syrian Kurdish fighters had withdrawn in accordance with the terms of the deal between Ankara and Moscow.

On Thursday, Assad said the deal is "temporary."

"We have to distinguish between ultimate or strategic goals... and tactical approaches," he said, stressing that his forces will eventually reclaim territory taken by Ankara in its latest offensive.

The situation around the northwestern region of Idlib showed how the regime could bypass Ankara, he said.&nbsp;

Russia and Turkey last year reached a ceasefire deal that was meant to protect the Idlib region of three million people from an all-out regime assault.

As part of the deal, Turkish forces deployed around Idlib in a bid to ensure the withdrawal of jihadist fighters and allied rebels from a de-escalation zone there.

But Assad's opponents did not pull back and last week Syria's president said that winning the Idlib front would be key to winning the war. He noted that his troops had completed preparations for an offensive.

Idlib province is the last major opposition bastion outside the regime's control.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Thursday said he did not want to make an "enemy" of neighbouring Turkey despite the stand-off between their forces in the north of the country.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Thursday said he did not want to make an "enemy" of neighbouring Turkey despite the stand-off between their forces in the north of the country. Assad said however that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself was an "enemy" due to policies hostile to Syria and opposed by most of his country's political elite. "We must ensure that we don't turn Turkey into an enemy and here comes the role of friends" such as Russia and Iran, the president said in a pre-recorded interview on state television. Turkey supports Syrian rebel forces who have battled Assad's government during the eight-year-long war that has killed more than 370,000 people. This month Ankara launched an operation across Syria's northern border against Kurdish forces. The Kurds spearheaded a US-backed military campaign against the Islamic State group that deprived the jihadists' of their final slither of Syrian territory in March this year but Ankara views the Kurdish forces as "terrorists". Abandoned by their ally Washington -- which early this month pulled its own troops back from the border area, effectively allowing Turkey to attack -- the Kurds turned to Damascus which swiftly deployed and reclaimed swathes of territory it lost years ago. Assad said the deployment is a prelude to reinstating complete central government control over the region in a process he said would be "gradual" and would "respect new realities on the ground." Turkey last week struck a deal with Russia to halt its weeks-long operation The agreement calls for the withdrawal of Syrian Kurdish fighters from areas along Turkey's border with Syria, with a view to setting up a "safe zone" where Ankara plans to repatriate some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees it currently hosts. Joint Turkish-Russian patrols are due to start in areas near the Syrian border on Friday after the Kremlin said that Syrian Kurdish fighters had withdrawn in accordance with the terms of the deal between Ankara and Moscow. On Thursday, Assad said the deal is "temporary." "We have to distinguish between ultimate or strategic goals... and tactical approaches," he said, stressing that his forces will eventually reclaim territory taken by Ankara in its latest offensive. The situation around the northwestern region of Idlib showed how the regime could bypass Ankara, he said. Russia and Turkey last year reached a ceasefire deal that was meant to protect the Idlib region of three million people from an all-out regime assault. As part of the deal, Turkish forces deployed around Idlib in a bid to ensure the withdrawal of jihadist fighters and allied rebels from a de-escalation zone there. But Assad's opponents did not pull back and last week Syria's president said that winning the Idlib front would be key to winning the war. He noted that his troops had completed preparations for an offensive. Idlib province is the last major opposition bastion outside the regime's control.

Syria's Assad says he does not want Turkey as an 'enemy'

Turkey-Russia begin joint patrolling across Northern Syria

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