Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Turkey Launches Offensive In NE Syria: Iran Also Involved


Turkey launches troop offensive in northeastern Syria



As President Recep Erdogan announced the start of a Turkish operation in northeastern Syria on Wednesday, Oct. 9, the Kurdish-led SDF reported that Turkish warplanes were striking civilian areas. Erdogan stated that he wants to create “a safe haven cleared of Kurdish militias to house a million Syrian refugees.”


Kurdish reports of Turkish aerial bombardment appeared to be inflated in the hope of bringing the Americans to their aid before the Turkish army crossed over. In the initial stage of the offensive, our military sources don’t expect Erdogan to overshoot the limits of the security zone, on whose creation he and President Donald Trump agreed in their phone call on Saturday, Oct. 7. It was after that call, that Trump announced the withdrawal of around 100 US troops from two observation posts in northeast Syria out of the way of the Turkish plan. This decision was sharply and widely criticized. He also warned Erdogan that he would “obliterate” the Turkish economic if the Kurds were attacked.

There were a number of military movements related to Syria in the course of Yom Kippur:

  • The Iranian and Turkish armies have embarked unannounced on a large-scale joint game, Iranian chief of staff Maj. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi announced. 
  • A small US force made its way to the north Syrian town of Kobani near Aleppo to head off a possible Turkish attack. The force consists of six US armored vehicles.
  • Pro-Turkish Turkmani militias have massed near the Syrian-Turkish border to support the forthcoming Turkish assault on Tal Abyad.


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