[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Sign-in] [Mail] [Setup] [Help]
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
|
World News See other World News Articles Title: Explained: Why northern Syria’s political arena is so complicated Explained: Why northern Syria’s political arena is so complicated 5 Nov 2018 Why YPG/PKK do not represent all Kurds Turkey-US ties likely to hit new low over military posts in northern Syria Why is Turkey launching another operation against US-backed YPG in Syria? Will Syria's Assad grant autonomy to the YPG to stay in power? Contrary to US stance, former SDF spokesman says YPG takes orders from PKK Northern Syria, where the Assad regime has little control, is a political theatre with different militant alliances running different regions. This is what’s going on. Turkish and the US apparently overcome their own contentious differences over the YPG presence in the town of Manbij, west of the Euphrates River. Turkish and US troops are seen during a joint patrol around Manbij, northern Syria on November 1, 2018. (Credit: Turkish defence ministry / Reuters) Despite the Syrian regime’s gains in most of the country, northern Syria is still a hotbed of various political and armed alliances, from opposition groups to the YPG, the Syrian wing of the PKK and the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army. The YPG presence across the Turkish border in Syria has been a thorn in the side for Turkey. Its umbrella organisation, the PKK, which is recognised as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US, and the EU, has also staged a three-decade armed campaign against the Turkish state, costing tens of thousands lives. Since the Syrian civil war exploded, the US and Russia have created spheres of influence across the region, using different proxies. In northern Syria, the ancient Euphrates River has traditionally been the border between the Washington-backed and Moscow-backed forces. A de facto no-fly zone has been in effect—enforced by the US air force, east of the Euphrates River—against the Syrian regime and its backers, where the YPG has established “cantons”, or autonomous regions, since the beginning of the civil war in 2011. Russia controls the airspace over territories west of the Euphrates River, which have been divided between Turkish-backed forces, other opposition groups and the Assad regime. Here is a breakdown of everything happening in northern Syria. Turkey’s cross-border operations Since mid-2016, Turkey has launched two major military operations across the Syrian border to secure a swathe of territory between YPG-controlled cantons and opposition-controlled Idlib province. During Turkey’s first Euphrates Shield Operation, from August 2016 to March 2017, the country’s military and its allied forces cleared much of the Daesh presence across its border, capturing the strategic town al-Bab. Daesh has put enormous emphasis on the importance of the town in its apocalyptic vision, so losing the territory was a significant blow. Euphrates Shield also succeeded in severing the routes between the YPG’s Afrin canton in northwestern Syria west of the Euphrates River and its other cantons, Kobani and Jazira, in northeastern Syria east of the Euphrates River. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
|
||
|
[Home]
[Headlines]
[Latest Articles]
[Latest Comments]
[Post]
[Sign-in]
[Mail]
[Setup]
[Help]
|
||