A Turkish ground and air offensive against Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria has killed at least sixteen people, according to a UK-based monitoring group (New York Times)
Turkish air strikes have reportedly struck targets as far as thirty miles from the border (Al Jazeera)
The UN Security Council will meet today to discuss possible responses to the incursion (Reuters)
Turkish Military Offensive Begins in Northern Syria
Turkey today launched an offensive against U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in northern Syria. The Turkish military waited until the United States withdrew its military personnel from the region before conducting airstrikes near the Syrian border (Washington Post)
Turkey Readies Offensive Against Syrian Kurds
Turkey said it has completed preparations for a military operation to clear out Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria after the United States agreed to pull back its troops there (Reuters)
Kurdish leaders said they may seek support from Damascus and Moscow (Reuters)
Kurdish fighters vowed to act as human shields against an invasion (Al Jazeera)
U.S. Pulls Troops From Northern Syria as Turkey Prepares Offensive
The United States has begun withdrawing troops from northern Syria in advance of an expected Turkish military offensive against Kurdish forces in the area. Washington has long backed the Kurdish fighters in its fight against the Islamic State in the country (Washington Post)
Syrian Kurdish Forces Withdraw From Border With Turkey
A Syrian rebel official said today that the Kurdish YPG militia and the Syrian Democratic Forces will withdraw from the Syria-Turkey border (Reuters)
A Kurdish official added that the YPG militia has already withdrawn troops and heavy weapons from some positions in a show of commitment to ongoing talks (Reuters)
Turkey Cracks Down on Kurdish Protestors
Turkish riot police fired water cannons and tear gas on Kurdish protestors in southeast Turkey yesterday. The protests followed the removal of three Kurdish mayors earlier this week (Reuters)
Turkey Says Convoy in Syria Attacked
Turkey’s Defense Ministry said that a military convoy was attacked today by Syrian airstrikes while en route to an observation post in northwest Syria and that the attack violated Turkey’s cooperation agreements with Russia (Reuters)
Syrian state media described the convoy as an act of aggression intended to help insurgents in Khan Sheikhoun defend against the Syrian army (Reuters)
Separately, Turkey removed three mayors from office on grounds of suspected ties to armed Kurdish groups and arrested four hundred people as part of a crackdown on opposition (Al Jazeera)
Syria Rejects U.S.-Turkey Plan for Safe Zone in Northern Syria
Syria denounced a U.S. and Turkish plan to enforce what the two countries described as a peace corridor in northeastern Syria. Syria’s Foreign Ministry called on the international community to condemn the potential incursion, which Turkey could use to keep Syrian Kurdish forces from its border and to repatriate refugees (Al Jazeera)
Syrian Kurdish forces had previously warned of a “big war” if U.S.-Turkish efforts failed (Reuters)
Turkey and U.S. Announce Plan for Safe Zone in Northern Syria
Ankara and Washington said they will establish a corridor in northwestern Syria that will allow Turkey to keep Syrian Kurdish forces from its border and facilitate the return of refugees (New York Times)
United States Plans to Prevent Turkish Invasion of Northern Syria
U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced today that the United States intends to prevent a Turkish invasion of northern Syria (Associated Press)
Separately, Syrian rebel commanders announced that they are willing to fight with Turkish troops to retake Kurdish-held territory in northeast Syria (Reuters)
Turkey Threatens Attack on Syrian Kurds
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned yesterday that Turkish forces could soon launch a military operation in northeast Syria against U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters who control a portion of the region (Financial Times)
U.S. military officials met yesterday with Turkish officials in Ankara to present a plan to address Turkish concerns in Syria (Washington Post)
Turkey Claims to Have Killed Thirty-Four Kurdish Militants
Turkey announced that it carried out air strikes that “neutralized” thirty-four militants affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party in northern Iraq in mid-July (Reuters)
Turkey Rejects Safe Zone Proposal for Kurds in Northern Syria
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced today that a U.S. proposal for a safe zone that allows for Kurdish People’s Protecting Units (YPG) in northern Syria is unacceptable (Reuters)
Cavusoglu added that Turkey would launch a new offensive in Syria if an agreement is not reached (Associated Press)
Rocket Fired From Syria Hits Turkey
A rocket fired from Syria exploded in Turkey’s Sanliurfa province yesterday, injuring five people and leading Turkey to attack seven targets within Syria. The origin of the rocket has not been determined (Reuters)
Separately, the commander of U.S. Central Command and the U.S. Deputy Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS met with officials from the Syrian Democratic Forces to improve relations (Kurdistan 24)
Kurdish Gunman Arrested for Killing Turkish Diplomat
Iraqi Kurdistan’s security services arrested the gunman who killed a Turkish diplomat in Erbil. The gunman is a brother of a People’s Democratic Party representative in the Turkish parliament (Reuters)
Gunmen Kill Turkish Diplomat in Iraq
A shooting in an Irbil restaurant today killed Turkey’s deputy consul general and several from his entourage (Associated Press)
Two Turkish Soldiers Killed by Kurdistan Workers Party
Today, an attack by the Kurdistan Workers Party in Hakkari province killed two Turkish soldiers and wounded another (Reuters)
Turkish Soldier Killed in Clashes With Kurds
Turkey’s Ministry of Defense reported that clashes with the Kurdish militants in Syria killed one Turkish soldier and injured five (Reuters)
Turkey Kills Ten Kurdish Militia Members in Syria
The Turkish Ministry of Defense said today that Turkish forces killed ten members of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria on Sunday, in retaliation for an attack that killed one Turkish soldier (Reuters)
U.S. Warns Turkey Not to Take Military Action in Northeastern Syria
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Washington, warned of “potentially devastating consequences” if Ankara takes unilateral military action in northeastern Syria where local U.S. allies are based (Agence France-Presse)
Fourth Kurdish Activist Dies Over PKK Leader’s Imprisonment
A Kurdish prisoner in Turkey took his own life yesterday, the fourth such death in recent months in protest of the living conditions of jailed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, according to lawyers and PKK officials (Voice of America)
Syrian Kurds Seek Protective Force
Ilham Ahmed, the head of the Syrian Kurds’ largest political organization, has asked Western governments to create an international observer force to be stationed along the Syria-Turkey border to prevent “crimes against humanity” by Turkey against Kurds (Guardian)
Protestors Storm Turkish Military Base in Iraq
A teenage protester was killed by gunfire and ten others were injured after they stormed a Turkish military base in northern Iraq on Saturday. The Kurdistan Regional Government said the demonstrators were angry over civilian deaths from recent Turkish air strikes (Associated Press)
Trump Threatens Turkey Over Syrian Kurds
President Donald J. Trump threatened to “devastate Turkey economically” if it attacks U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters in Syria as the United States withdraws its roughly two thousand troops from the country. The tweet prompted strong rebukes from top Turkish officials (Al Jazeera)
U.S. Warns Turkey Over Northern Syria Offensive
The Pentagon said yesterday that unilateral military action by any party into northern Syria, particularly where U.S. forces could be present, would be “unacceptable.” The statement came hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to launch an operation soon against Kurdish militias in the region, whom he called “separatist terrorists” (Deutsche Welle)