Free Republic

The invading Turkish army shelled Afrin canton with howitzer and mortar fire tonight. Reports are coming through of aerial attack on Rajo district. Saturday afternoon, dozens of Turkish warplanes carried out a bombardment on Afrin Canton of Northern Syria, killing 7 civilians, 3 YPG/YPJ fighters and injuring 12 people. Following the deadly attack, the Turkish army has launched yet another aggression targeting south of Afrin at night. Turkish howitzer and mortar attacks target Celeme and Xelil villages in Cindires region and Iska, Basufane villages in Sherawa district. Reports suggest that Turkish jets have shelled Hecika village in Afrin’s Rajo district at night.

Turkey opened a new front in Syria's nearly seven-year-old war on Saturday, launching airstrikes against a U.S.-backed Kurdish militia in Afrin province that raise the prospect of a further strain on relations between Ankara and Washington.The operation, dubbed "Operation Olive Branch" by Ankara, pits Turkey against Kurdish fighters allied to the United States at a time when ties between Turkey and Washington - NATO allies and members of the coalition against Islamic State - appear dangerously close to a breaking point.The strikes on the Syrian-Kurdish YPG militia hit some 108 targets, the Turkish military said. On land, the Turkey-backed Free...

The war for dominance in the Middle East, following the crushing of ISIS, appears about to commence in Syria -- with NATO allies America and Turkey on opposing sides. Turkey is moving armor and troops south to Syria's border enclave of Afrin, occupied by Kurds, to drive them out, and then drive the Syrian Kurds out of Manbij further south as well. Says President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, "We will destroy all terror nests, one by one, in Syria, starting from Afrin and Manbij." For Erdogan, the Kurdish YPG, the major U.S. ally in Syria, is an arm of the Kurdish...

Southern Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani had a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi in Baghdad. Southern Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and his deputy Qûbad Talabani went to Baghdad on Saturday. Barzani, Talabani and KDP official Fûad Hisên have met with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi in Baghdad. While details about the meeting are not clear, this is the first meeting held between the two sides after the controversial independence referendum of 25 September 2017. Before the referendum in Southern Kurdistan, Barzani had stated that “There is a bankrupt government in Baghdad”, referring to Abadi. Abadi had also...