Syria: ISIS loving shit TURKS bomb YPG instead of ISIS

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BBC News

Turkey shells Kurdish YPG militia

Turkey has shelled a Kurdish militia in northern Syria and demanded it retreat from territory it has seized, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.

The US urged Turkey to stop the shelling and focus on fighting the group Islamic State (IS).

Meanwhile Turkey's foreign minister said Turkey was mulling a ground invasion of Syria with Saudi forces.

On Thursday world powers agreed to push for a cessation of hostilities in Syria within a week.

Among the targets shelled by Turkey was the Menagh airbase, which was seized on Thursday from Syrian Islamist rebels by a Kurdish militia group known as the YPG.

Speaking on Turkish TV, PM Davutoglu warned that Turkey would retaliate if the YPG did not leave the airbase, which lies south of the town of Azaz and near the Turkish border.

Turkey sees the YPG as being linked with Kurdish guerrillas from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a campaign against security forces in Turkey itself for decades.

Mr Davutoglu accused the Kurdish militiamen of attacking ethnic Arabs and Turkmen in what amounted to "war crimes".

US State Department spokesman John Kirby also urged the YPG not to "take advantage of a confused situation" by seizing new territory.

Mr Kirby said Turkey and the YPG were both threatened by IS, whose fighters were located to the east of Azaz.

"We continue to encourage all parties to focus on this common threat, which has not subsided," he said.

On Saturday, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said it was possible that troops from his country and Saudi Arabia might participate in a ground operation against IS forces.

Saudi Arabia will send war planes to the Turkish airbase of Incirlik to carry out air strikes on IS militants, Mr Cavusoglu said.

The US has so far ruled out a ground invasion of Syria, while Moscow has warned against such a development, saying it could lead to a world war.

World powers have instead agreed a tentative deal to try to bring about a cessation of hostilities and allow more access for humanitarian aid.

Under the plan, efforts will be made to try to make urgent aid deliveries to besieged and hard-to-reach areas in Syria. Steps will also be taken to work towards an eventual ceasefire and implementation of a UN-backed plan for political transition in Syria.

The halt would not apply to the battle against jihadist groups IS and al-Nusra Front.

Link to Full Article - Photos - Videos:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-35571663

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UPDATE:

A Turkish assault on positions claimed by Kurdish fighters in northern Syria has continued into a second day.

On Saturday, Turkey began shelling the militia, which it says is linked to the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The YPG militia, which is based in Syria, has rejected a demand by Turkey to leave areas it has seized, saying Islamists would return if it left.

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Damascus confirms its army targeted by Turkey shelling

The Syrian government has confirmed that its army positions were targeted by Turkish shelling on Saturday, which also hit the positions of the Syrian Kurdish militias in the northern Aleppo province. Turkish shelling reportedly continued Sunday.

The Syrian government has condemned the Turkish shelling of Syrian territory and described it as direct support for "terrorist" groups, Syrian state media reported Sunday, citing a letter to the United Nations.

“Turkish artillery shelled Syrian territory, targeting Syrian Kurdish positions and the positions of the Syrian Arab Army,” SANA news agency reported citing the letter.

Damascus sent the letter in response to Saturday’s Turkish shelling of areas north of Aleppo recently captured by a Kurdish-backed alliance.

“The shelling of Syrian territory by the Turkish artillery amounts to direct support of terrorist groups by Turkey and is an act of aggression against the Syrian people,” SANA reported.

The Turkish military launched artillery strikes in response to the military offensive conducted by the Syrian Arab Army in the northern part of Aleppo province, according to the government's letter to the UN. The shelling is “an attempt to increase the morale of armed terrorist groupings, who are being defeated,” the letter added.

In the letter the Syrian government condemned statements by Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu as "blatant interference" in Syrian affairs.

Turkish military sources told Anadolu Agency that the shelling was continuing Sunday and several positions of YPG – the military wing of the Kurdish Democratic Union (PYD) - have been destroyed. The militias reportedly suffered a number of casualties, the sources added.

The US has called on its NATO ally Turkey to cease artillery fire against Kurdish positions in Syria’s territory, referring to Saturday’s shelling. The US State Department pointed out the two sides have to join forces to combat Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).

“We are concerned about the situation north of Aleppo and are working to deescalate tensions on all sides,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement Saturday. “We have also seen reports of artillery fire from the Turkish side of the border and urged Turkey to cease such fire,” he said.

Kirby also stressed that Washington does not regard the Syrian Kurds as terrorists. The comment prompted anger in Ankara, where the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military wing, the YPG, are seen as affiliates of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Earlier last week, Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the US ambassador John Bass on Tuesday, expressing its “unease,” AFP reported.

Local journalist Barzan Iso told RT on Saturday the Turkish artillery fire was hitting Menagh as well as a hamlet nearby. According to him, the airbase was previously held by Ahrar ash-Sham Islamist rebel group that fought Syrian government’s forces as Al-Nusra ally since the start of the Arab Spring.

Menagh airbase was a Syrian Air Force installation located 6 kilometers south of Azaz, Aleppo Governorate.

Earlier this month, the YPG and its non-Kurdish allies regained control over the airbase, aided by Russian airstrikes and indirect cooperation from government forces.

Ahrar ash-Sham, which intensified its attacks on the Syrian army since January, was getting “serious reinforcements from Turkey,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a briefing in Moscow on January 21.

https://www.rt.com/news/332414-turkey-c ... l-kurdish/

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France's foreign ministry has urged Turkey to end its assault on Kurdish fighters in northern Syria.

In a statement (in French) it said it was "worried about the continued worsening of the situation".

Turkey's assault is a new thread in an already-complex conflict that has drawn in competing regional powers.

A statement on Syria's state news agency also condemned Turkey's intervention, calling it "outrageous violation of international law".

France also called on the regime and its allies to stop their bombardments "across the whole of the country".

France said priority should be given to implementing an agreement reached in Munich this week, and the fight against so-called Islamic State (IS) group.