Turkish-backed Syrian rebels are prepared to launch the #Afrin operation: pic.twitter.com/p9cWGhDbL8
— Ömer Özkizilcik (@OmerOzkizilcik) 19 January 2018
On January 19, thousands of fighters of Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups started taking offensive positions on the eastern and western flanks of Afrin area in the northern Aleppo countryside, according to a report of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
The SOHR added that the Turkish-backed FSA and the Turkish Army are preparing to attack Afrin from ten directions simultaneously.
Click to see the full-size image
Click to see the full-size image
For the sixth day in a row, the Turkish Army continued shelling positions of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) around the city of Afrin. In response, the YPG shelled a position of the FSA in the town of Azaz east of Afrin, according to Kurdish sources.
#TSK bombing #YPG sites in #Afrin pic.twitter.com/OVnDuspS3d
— MOHAMMED GHORAB (@MGhorab3) 19 January 2018
عاجل | رويترز عن وزير الدفاع التركي: عملية #عفرين بـ #سوريا بدأت “فعليا” بقصف عبر الحدود pic.twitter.com/fGIaPxwYVz
— الجزيرة مباشر (@ajmubasher) 19 January 2018
Earlier, the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported that Russian forces had withdrawn from all of its positions in Afrin area ahead of the upcoming military operation of the Turkish Army against the YPG.
However, the SOHR denied that the Russian forces withdrew Afrin area. Moreover, the Lebanese Mayadeen TV said that Russian forces set up new observation points in Tell ‘Ajar east of Afrin city. This could mean that Russia is trying to delay the long-awaited Turkish military operation.
While many Turkish activists believe that the Turkish operation against the YPG in Afrin will begin in the upcoming hours, many Syrian and Kurdish activists say that a political solution is still possible through the Russian mediation.
A political solution may include the YPG handing over its positions in Afrin to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and setting up a joint security mechanism in the area.
10 Directions LOL they will massacre them!
also shoot each other
The most probable outcome, we can only hope but tragic that TSK has to die for the greater glory of their leaders domestic political agenda. It would be good if they could wheel 180 and head north to finish what started in July 2016. There is no future for Turkey and the long suffering Turkish people under Erdoagn
I believe the best source about the position of the Russian forces is neither Turkey’s Anadolu nor SOHR (seriously, who believes SOHR?) but the Russia’s ministry of defence.
I think president Erdogan is too unpredictable and untrustworthy to believe this whole operation is a show between Turkey on one side and Syria, Russia and Iran on the other in order to put Afrin under SAA control.
Turkey is taking territory. Its a free for all now.
Turk learn to run very fast because if Afrin is pushed to Syrian government then the FSA will be made short work of. Why you are being warned is because US has decided Turkey is next for regime change and will be ripe in the public eye of the world. Feto will cede territory to create a Kurdistan and be very compliant lapdog of the US/UK govt. So you do realize what you said applies more to Turkey than Syria.
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Well said, Garga!
Yet again, US uses the Kurds for their agenda, then tosses them aside like used tissue. This is my shocked face :-/
I think that everything is going according to plan of creating a Kurdistan. Since the beginning, the Kurds were armed by US to dismember not only Syria, but also Turkey, Iraq and, in the end, Iran. With this invasion, the Kurds will again play the victims and then will push for “autonomy” and “auto-determination” inside Turkey, demanding the right of having their own state with an access to the sea.
Interesting scenario.
Have to agree also since this a likely scenario as it’s the obvious one as they all were set up to fail and gain sympathy Iraq, Afrin ,and finally North eastern Syria , this has been guessed already by the Russians and the Syrians along with Iran and why they keep reiterating that the sovereignty needs to be respected , but this is a double edged sword and can backfire in a painful way for Turkey and the US. Russians are clever players and them backing up only 1 km is funny and will slow down the advance enough to buy time for negotiations to be concluded. Once the negotiations are concluded this will show to the SDF that the US are an unreliable partner, that’s if they are smart enough to see the obvious ploy. The whole entire plan is doomed anyways as the long term goals are unattainable as other factors haven’t come into play in those.
It may be so. Syria’s war and politics is definitely 3D chess. I favor Assad’s secular government and wish them all success. I’d like to see a political accommodation between Assad and the Kurds. Predicting this stage of the war is more than I can do. When it is just SAA v ISIS or HTS I am confident that victory is assured. When outside powers become directly involved I can only sit and observe. I’m not so naive to believe that good always triumphs over evil.
The way I see it is the US always over plays it part which can easily alienate friends and allies, US has always been trying to deal with those that deal with Russia. Since the Former Yugoslavia has some temporary success but no dealings with Russia in that. It’s naive to think in terms of good vs evil , as no party is truly good or bad as there is only right and wrong. Here is where the wrong move can end your game for the US they are not great players but opportunists.
After the possibility of Afrin operation became a fact, the terrorist PYD/PKK issued a call for help to Washington. Afrin is also a multi-ethnic town. Unlike the false propaganda of some trolls in previous comments regarding “support protests”, the PYD/PKK militants do not allow civilians to leave the town, use them as human shields and follow a policy of oppression and forced recruitment as well.
On the other hand, the Turkish government must establish dialogue with Damascus as soon as possible and coordinate this operation not only with Iran and Russia, but also Syria instead of the looters of the “Free Syrian Army”. Because there is only one Syrian Army.
There is no need for stubborness. President Bashar al Assad declared terrorist PYD/PKK as ‘traitors’. The recent warning of Damascus on shooting down Turkish aircrafts must be evaluated from this perspective. The response of Turkish government to it was, “Turkey does not target the territorial integrity of Syria”.
The land of the operation belongs to Syria too. Then, what is the point of making Turkish aircrafts to become targets while bombing terrorist PYD/PKK? The longer Turkey-Syria cooperation against the U.S. threat delays, the more it serves to the American and Israeli interests in the region.
the ten commandments
Just one from Exodus 20:17 would do.
We will see what will develop.
I sincerely doubt that YPG/SDF will hand over the region to SAA because what would be the point of gaining a region with many casualties in order to hand it over to another at least partially hostile party.
What would be the point of handing over one’s core population to a hostile force.
On the other hand, a string of border posts, road blocks co-manned by SAA on external and internal border lines, that could be a possibility and could be attractive to SAA as it would give them a small hold on the region.
We will see though
Giving in to Edogans blackmail, “do what I want or I will kill you”, seems to me the worst option. Sometimes, one just has to fight, even when you know you might lose.
It will be an interesting weekend, that is for sure.
” Giving in to Edogans blackmail, “do what I want or I will kill you”,
That of course is the ideology used by the United States of America as well as Turkey.
Dutch, do you really think anybody seriously cares about expectations of Afrin Kurds?
2 000 tones of anthrax dispersed above kurdish territory. problem solved for the next 5 000 years.
ah, another ICC candidate in the Hague if your own citizens don’t get you first
for you marburg virus
You can’t just jump in a war like that. If you want in, you need a plan and a strategy. And that takes time (months) Or else it’s just a brawl. Can you be dumber than Turkey (not counting Saudi Arabia of course)?
One country, one army. That’s it. No YPG,SDF,FSA. If Turkey needs help against terrorist then don’t support terrorists and try to hamper the peace process. Assad is the legitimate ruler of Syria.
YEAH! And the same for lebanon!
This time it seems Turkey is really going to grill YPG terrorists. They have the last chance because once SAA deals with ISIS it is too late for Turkey to intervene on Syrian soil.
ten directions? how many directions do exist? I thought 4, maybe 8.
2 directions the 10 is a huge bluff as they can’t attack the north that is under Russian control, as they have 23-24 outposts and Turkey has none in Idlib. So it should make for short work in Idlib for the SAA as they have the manpower ready at a moments notice to go to Afrin and still resume the assault in Idlib region. Why everyone was curious as to why the pushes came to a halt in some areas and more reliance on tribal forces in the mix . Good thing many are signing up to fight these Jihadi Barbaros in Syria when they liberate new areas.
Afrin Kurds in Syria did nothing unusual in the last 2 years to trigger the recent Turkish outrage. Turkey is upset about the Kurdish controlled SDF army they setup on the border in northeast Syria.
That’s what turkey wants to destroy. But they can’t challenge the US. So the afrin Kurds, who do not have US protection, are taking the hit for what the sdf is doing. It’s illogical to blame afrin Kurds, but it does send the uS a message :
” see what our military can do. It’s strong. Are you really going to spend the money to defend sdf from this army? ”
It could backfire if they have less than stellar performance.
In the last 2 years, 2 soldiers died and 10 other got wounded by the mortars fired from Afrin villages to Turkish police stations.
In addition, there were tens of infiltrations from Afrin to Amanos mountains where they conducted attacks on security force.
Turkey probably wants to clear the entrity of PKK from northern Syria but due to these reasons Afrin is a top priority and its surrounded and isolated from the rest.
Erdogan’s cannon fodder to be sent to their deaths for his domestic political gain. He uses them like a toilet brush to clean up his messes before making yet another one. The long suffering Turkish people cough under a regional bully and destabilizing extremist
This appears to me as a high stake strategy by Russia, Turkey and Syria to sideline the Yanks once and for all. It has a positive outcome for everyone except the Yanks and their SDF lackys.. It also completely undermines the YPG/PKK should Afrin come under SAA control, especially with Kurdish defenders there joining the NDF.
Problem with Afrin YPG they made a deal with the Russians and not the US and why Dillon gave the Red scare face when questioned about Afrin. This is lesson time here as they are trying to gain control of Syria we see the NATO forces trying to establish a coast for the Kurds of the SDF and at the same time teaching these Kurds not to deal with Russia and a warning to others what reconciling does.
I also doubt after the post coup purges if the turkish military works
the airforce is decimated, but the rest is still enough to overkill the ypg. remeber iran. after the revolition they killed/kicked out the former officers. began to build uot the army from zero gorund level. despite this fact iraq was not able to defeat iran.
Oh no doubt. Im sure some human wave clog their guns with bodies officers are left to direct them. Stupid but at least too stupid to be disloyal to erdogan.
Im not sarcastic either. I think thats whats going to happen if they get into a slugfest.