President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said Turkey would never allow a Kurdish state in Syria near its border, and warned that if threatened, Ankara would not hesitate to use its right to self-defence. “We will never remain silent or unresponsive to the backing and arming of terrorist groups, and the formation of terror islets … Read more
Tens of thousands of people protested on Wednesday in a town in northern Syria against Turkey, as speculation mounts it is planning to attack the Kurdish-held border region. The demonstrators took to the streets of Afrin wrapped in flags of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and carrying portraits of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader … Read more
When about a hundred Arab Christians recently attended the small church at Ein Qiniye in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, it was a turnout not often seen there. Few Christians remain on the Israeli-held part of the strategic plateau northeast of the Sea of Galilee, where Christians believe Jesus walked on water. Only two isolated Christian … Read more
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday strongly criticised the decision of the authorities in Iraq’s Kurdistan region to hold a referendum on independence, calling it “an error and a threat” to the country’s territorial integrity. Turkey has prided itself on its good ties with the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq’s north, with … Read more
The battle by US-backed forces to oust the Islamic State group from its Syrian bastion of Raqa will solve one problem but create another: who will then govern the city? The Syrian Democratic Forces Kurdish-Arab alliance backed by Washington is leading the fight for majority-Arab Raqa. But the strategic city is also coveted by Bashar … Read more
The United States will soon start delivering weapons to Syria’s Kurdish fighters, despite furious Turkish objections, a US military spokesman said. A first consignment of weapons is already in place for delivery and could be dispatched to the Kurds “very quickly,” said US Colonel John Dorrian, a military spokesman for the anti-Islamic State (IS) coalition … Read more
US President Donald Trump has approved the supplying of weapons to Kurdish forces battling the Islamic State group in Syria, a US official said Tuesday. The funding “to provide support to the YPG has been approved,” the official said on condition of anonymity. “The approval is effective immediately but the timeline for weapons delivery is … Read more
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday his government is ‘seriously saddened’ by television footage showing US military forces operating alongside Syrian Kurdish fighters that Ankara views as terrorists and Washington believes are the most effective fighting force against Islamic State jihadists. Turkish forces last week launched airstrikes on Syrian Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG), … Read more
hirty-six members of the Yazidi religious minority are free after nearly three years in the hands of so-called Islamic State (IS), the UN says. They have been taken to UN centres in Dohuk in Kurdish northern Iraq. It is unclear whether they escaped in Iraq or were freed, as the UN declined to give more … Read more
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was in Ankara on Thursday for talks on the Syria conflict, just a day after Turkey announced that its military offensive was over. Tillerson, the most senior US official to visit Turkey since President Donald Trump took office in January, is seeking to turn around recently rocky relations between … Read more
In a shimmering dress, Efin Hissu strides confidently down a runway to the beat of Kurdish music at a fashion show in northeast Syria showcasing a revival of the minority’s traditional clothing. Her outfit is a riot of contrasting patterns, starting with her full-length gown, a sienna shade overlaid with a delicate leaf-like pattern in … Read more
Turkish, Russian and US military chiefs held talks on Tuesday in the southern Turkish city of Antalya to discuss regional issues including Iraq and Syria, the Turkish army said. “Common issues relating to regional security, in particular Syria and Iraq, are being discussed at the meeting,” the army said in a statement, without elaborating further. … Read more
Canada will resettle 1,200 Yezidi refugees who faced persecution by the Islamic State group, the immigration minister said Tuesday. Some 400 have already been airlifted to this country. “Our operation is under way and individual survivors of Daesh have been arriving in Canada for resettlement in the last number of months and this began on … Read more
Turkey has presented two plans to the US detailing how a joint operation could retake the IS de-facto capital of Raqa in northern Syria, a local newspaper reported Saturday. Turkish Chief of Staff General Hulusi Akar set out Ankara’s proposals to the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford during his visit … Read more
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that Ankara wanted to establish a “safe zone” in northern Syria free of “terrorists”, as Turkish-backed rebels pushed ahead in the town of Al-Bab. He added the area would also require a “no-fly” zone. “Our objective here is (to establish) an area of at least 4,000, 5,000 square kilometres … Read more
Hassan Jamil’s love affair with Donald Trump began in the thick of the American presidential campaign, when he found himself glued to his television screen on the other side of the world each night, transfixed by the billionaire’s “beautiful” hair, commanding presence and magnetic speaking style. Jamil, who doesn’t speak English, couldn’t understand the Republican … Read more
Extremist jihadis of the Islamic State (ISIS) on Thursday executed 19 Yezidi girls by burning them to death, activists and eyewitnesses reported. The victims, who had been taken by ISIS jihadis as sex slaves, were placed in iron cages in central Mosul and burned to death in front of hundreds of people. “They were punished … Read more