Newsweek: U.S. Wins One Major Battle in Syria but Prepares for Another as Donald Trump Tells Turkey to Back Off
The United States won a major battle in Syria as local allies ousted the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) from the final major town under its control. However, a new conflict is looming as these same Pentagon-backed fighters face an imminent threat from a fellow U.S. partner.
The Syrian Democratic Forces, a mostly Kurdish group, has been the main partner of a U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS since 2015. But that allegiance is opposed by Turkey due to the connections of certain participating Kurdish militias to groups designated by Ankara as terrorist organizations due to an ongoing insurgency at home. Just as the Syrian Democratic Forces were on the verge of declaring victory over ISIS after a brutal battle for the town of Hajin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced Wednesday that his forces would launch a new offensive against "separatist terrorist organization" in Kurd-controlled areas "within a few days."
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Update: Trump administration tries to head off Turkish assault on Kurds in Syria (Stars and Stripes/Washington Post)
WNU Editor: President Trump and Turkish President Erdogan are talking .... US, Turkish Presidents Talk as Ankara Ratchets Up Syria Tension (VOA). The U.S. also has the backing of the EU .... EU urges Turkey to refrain from 'unilateral' Syria move (AFP). The U.S. is also threatening the Syrian rebels that are allied with Turkey .... US Warns Syrian Opposition, FSA not to Back Turkey's Planned Op Against YPG (Sputnik). But I do not think this is also going to stop Erdogan from green-lighting a military operation. He wants a major concession from the U.S., and from what I have been reading in social media, some are speculating that this may be it .... Trump: Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen 'not under consideration' for extradition 'at this point' (CNN).
