Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump suggested Monday that Syria’s formerly US-allied Kurds could look to 19th century French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte for protection after the US president ordered the departure of nearly 1,000 US troops from the country. Turkey was threatening to invade northeastern Syria after launching a …
Read More »Erdogan slams NATO for failing to back Syria campaign
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday angrily lashed out at NATO, accusing the Western military alliance of failing to back Turkey’s campaign against Kurdish militia in Syria. Erdogan’s latest comments were among the toughest he has directed in recent times against NATO, which Turkey joined …
Read More »Erdogan says premature to say who supplied Syria tank weapon
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkey has information concerning the source of an anti-tank missile that killed five Turkish soldiers in Syria but it is too early to announce its country of origin, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday. The soldiers were killed on Saturday in a strike on a …
Read More »Turkey says France ‘cannot give lessons’ over Syria
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkey on Thursday told France to refrain from giving “lessons” over its campaign in Syria, where Ankara is pressing a fierce offensive against Kurdish militia. The warning from Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu came a day after French President Emmanuel Macron told Ankara that it …
Read More »Erdogan vows no let-up in Syria campaign as US tensions rise
Antakya, Turkey | AFP | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday vowed Turkey’s campaign against a Kurdish militia in northern Syria would press on for as long as required, after telephone talks with Donald Trump failed to douse soaring tensions with Washington. The six-day campaign against the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection …
Read More »US puts pressure on Turkey over Syria push, Erdogan defiant
Kirikhan, Turkey | AFP | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday vowed to press Turkey’s offensive against a Kurdish militia in Syria until “the last terrorist” was killed, as the US ramped up its concerns over the campaign. Turkey on Saturday launched operation “Olive Branch” together with Syrian rebels and Turkish …
Read More »Erdogan threatens to ‘nip in the bud’ new US-backed Syria force
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday threatened to thwart the creation of a new US-backed 30,000-strong border security force in northern Syria before it was even set up. “America has acknowledged it is in the process of creating a terror army on our border. What …
Read More »Iraq ex-president and Kurdish leader Talabani dies
Sulaimaniyah, Iraq | AFP | Ex-Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, a veteran leader of the struggle for Kurdish self-determination and a unifying elder statesman, died on Tuesday in Germany aged 83, Kurdish officials said. Talabani was Iraq’s president from 2005 to 2014 and a key figure in Iraqi Kurdistan, where voters …
Read More »Iraq Kurds defy Baghdad in historic independence vote
Arbil, Iraq | AFP | Iraqi Kurds voted in an independence referendum Monday, defying warnings from Baghdad and their neighbours in a historic step towards a national dream. The non-binding vote, initiated by veteran leader Massud Barzani, has angered not only Iraq’s federal government but also neighbouring Turkey and Iran, who …
Read More »Erdogan urges US to ‘immediately’ reverse decision on arming Syrian Kurds
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday called on the United States to immediately reverse a decision on arming Syrian Kurdish fighters considered by Ankara to be a terror group. “I hope very much that this mistake will be reversed immediately,” Erdogan said after Washington …
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