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The Iraqi Army was deployed to the Yezidi town of Sinjar yesterday to provide security alongside the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)-affiliated Sinjar Protection Units hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the start of his own operation in the north of Iraq. The PKK has been withdrawing since its umbrella group, the KCK, announced […]
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Syrian rebel groups have pulled out of more towns in the Eastern Ghouta, as the government tightens it grip on the enclave outside Damascus. Buses carrying fighters, their families and others left the area late on Saturday, leaving the city of Douma as the last rebel-held stronghold. About 70% of the Eastern Ghouta is now […]
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Turkish-backed forces have taken full control of the centre of the Syrian-Kurdish city of Afrin. Fighters waved flags and tore down the statue of a legendary Kurdish figure Kawa after claiming the city centre yesterday. The two-month Turkish-led operation aimed to rid the border region of a Kurdish militia that Turkey considers a terrorist group. […]
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A UN convoy delivering urgently needed aid to the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta area of Syria has cut short its mission and left the enclave amid shelling. A UN refugee agency official said the convoy – the first since mid-February – delivered as much as it could in Douma town and left after nearly nine hours. […]
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At least 36 pro-Syrian government troops have been killed by a Turkish air strike in the region of Afrin. The strike targeted a camp at Kafr Jina in the northern Syrian region. The pro-government troops entered Afrin two weeks ago to back Kurdish forces. Eight Turkish soldiers were killed and another 13 were injured on […]
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Indiscriminate shellfire by Turkish troops – and to a lesser extent Kurdish forces – has killed scores of civilians in Syria, a human rights group alleges. Amnesty International said it had verified witness testimony from the north-western Kurdish enclave of Afrin that “painted a grim picture”. Turkey has denied targeting civilians since launching an offensive against […]
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Prominent Syrian-Kurdish leader Salih Muslim, who was detained in the Czech Republic, has been freed, prompting anger from Turkey, which issued the warrant for his arrest. The former co-chair of the main Syrian-Kurdish movement, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), was arrested in Prague on Sunday. He was freed by a Czech court on Thursday despite […]
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Pro-Syrian government forces on Tuesday arrived in the Kurdish enclave of Afrin following an agreement between the government and the People’s Protection Units (YPG). The government fighters advanced toward the Afrin region in Syrian Kurdistan after an agreement was arranged earlier to allow the Syrian troops to enter the Kurdish-controlled area. Following the arrival of […]
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Tensions continue to rise as Turkey has warned the Syrian government not to help Kurds fighting against Turkish forces in northern Syria. Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said Turkey’s operations were going ahead as planned and it would be a “disaster” if Syrian troops were to intervene. Syrian media had earlier said the army would […]
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Kurdish fighters in north-western Syria say they have struck a deal with the Syrian government under which it will send troops to help repel the ongoing Turkish Olive Branch offensive. The Syrian government in Damascus has offered no confirmation. There is currently no Syrian military presence in the area. In next door Iran, relatives of […]
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