Tag: YPG

Turkey Puts Brakes on Nordic NATO Bids, Citing ‘Act of Provocation’

Turkey appears to have thrown cold water on a joint bid by Sweden and Finland to become members of the Western NATO alliance. On Jan. 23, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sweden could “no longer expect” Turkish support for its NATO accession efforts. As a NATO member, Turkey wields veto power over bids by…


Damascus Tells Turkey Restored Ties Requires End of ‘Occupation’

The restoration of ties between Damascus and Ankara is contingent upon the latter ending its military presence in northern Syria, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad has said. Since 2016, Turkey has staged three ground offensives into northern Syria, where it still maintains thousands of troops. On Jan. 14, Mekdad called for an end to the…


11 Years After the Arab Spring, Turkey Moves to Mend Diplomatic Ties with Cairo, Damascus

Turkey this week took fresh steps towards mending relations with Egypt and Syria. Ankara’s ties with both countries have been characterized by mutual hostility since the 2011 “Arab Spring” and its tumultuous aftermath. “We may reevaluate relations with the countries we have problems with,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters while attending a G20…


Turkey, Iran Strike Kurdish Groups Amid Fears of Widening Conflict

ISTANBUL—Turkey has ramped up its cross-border strikes on Kurdish YPG militants in Syria and Iraq, while Iran struck dissident groups in northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region this week. Russia and the United States, both of which maintain troops in Syria, have called on Turkey to show restraint amid fears of widening conflict in the region….


Turkey Hit by Cross-Border Shelling After Targeting YPG in Syria, Iraq

At least three people were killed on Nov. 21 in a series of mortar attacks in Turkey’s southern Gaziantep province, located adjacent to Syria, according to the Turkish Interior Ministry.  The ministry has blamed the cross-border attacks on the Kurdish YPG, the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Speaking to reporters in Ankara,…


Istanbul Bombing Aftermath Highlights US-Turkey Tensions

In a sign of strained ties between Turkey and the United States, Turkish officials declined to accept Washington’s condolences after a deadly bombing in the heart of Istanbul that left six people dead on Nov. 13. According to the Turkish authorities, who swiftly detained the alleged bomber, the attack was planned and carried out by…


2 Turkish Soldiers Killed in North Syria; 2 Others Wounded

ISTANBUL—Two Turkish soldiers were killed and two others were wounded in an attack in northern Syria, Turkey’s defense ministry said Sunday. The ministry wrote on Twitter that a Turkish armored vehicle was attacked. The assault occurred Saturday in the so-called Euphrates Shield area, which consists of a region between the Turkish border and northern Aleppo,…


Turkey Says It Killed 15 Kurdish Militants Preparing Attack in Northeast Syria

ANKARA—Turkey said on Sunday its military killed 15 militants from the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which it said was preparing to carry out an attack in a region of northeast Syria controlled by Turkey and its Syrian rebel allies. In an offensive last year dubbed the Peace Spring Operation, Turkey seized a 120-km (75-mile) stretch…