ISIS REINFORCES POSITIONS IN AL-BAB CITY

Sourced : Al-Monitor By  Khaled al-Khateb Military operations are ongoing near al-Bab, northeast of Aleppo, between the Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions and special Turkish forces on the one hand, and the Islamic State (ISIS) on the other. The battles that the armed Syrian opposition is waging with Turkish air and land support in the… Continue reading ISIS REINFORCES POSITIONS IN AL-BAB CITY

SECURITY REMAINS MAIN OBSTACLE TO CYPRUS DEAL

Sourced : Kathimerini As negotiators try to break a 43-year deadlock to reunite Cyprus, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras expressed reservations on Wednesday over the short-term prospects of a settlement, which, he said, must include the abolition of the “anachronistic” system of guarantees and the withdrawal of Turkey’s troops from the island. In an interview with… Continue reading SECURITY REMAINS MAIN OBSTACLE TO CYPRUS DEAL

SYRIA’S NEW NATIONAL SECURITY FORCE PLEDGES LOYALTY TO TURKEY

Members of the Free police attend a ceremony celebrating the inauguration of the "Free Police" in the Syrian border town of Jarablus January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTSX6LA

Sourced : Al-Monitor By : Amberin Zaman When Turkey intervened in northern Syria five months ago, it claimed it had no designs on its former Ottoman dominion and that its only goals were to cleanse its borders of the Islamic State and to eliminate what it called the terrorist threat posed by the People’s Protection… Continue reading SYRIA’S NEW NATIONAL SECURITY FORCE PLEDGES LOYALTY TO TURKEY

ISIS REINFORCES POSITIONS IN AL-BAB CITY

Sourced : Al-Monitor By : Khaled al-Khateb Military operations are ongoing near al-Bab, northeast of Aleppo, between the Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions and special Turkish forces on the one hand, and the Islamic State (IS) on the other. The battles that the armed Syrian opposition is waging with Turkish air and land support in… Continue reading ISIS REINFORCES POSITIONS IN AL-BAB CITY

70 PERCENT OF TURKISH NAVY VESSELS USED IN THE COUP OF THE 15TH OF JULY 2016

EPSON scanner Image

Sourced : Hurriyet By Mesut Hasan Benli Some 70 percent of Turkish navy vessels played a role in coup activities on July 15 night as their personnel were previously informed about the attempt by the orchestrators of the failed bid, according to Ankara prosecutors. In an indictment sent to an Ankara court of serious crimes… Continue reading 70 PERCENT OF TURKISH NAVY VESSELS USED IN THE COUP OF THE 15TH OF JULY 2016

ERDOGAN : “TURKISH TROOPS WOULD REMAIN IN CYPRUS FOREVER”

Sourced : NY Times By Nick Cumming-Bruce and Andreas Riris Turkey’s president declared on Friday that Turkish troops would remain in Cyprus “forever,” complicating hopes of reuniting the island nation, which has been effectively partitioned since 1974. “Greece is fleeing again from a solution to the Cyprus problem,” the president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told reporters… Continue reading ERDOGAN : “TURKISH TROOPS WOULD REMAIN IN CYPRUS FOREVER”

RUSSIA SENDS MORE MILITARY GEAR TO SYRIA AFTER DRAWDOWN CLAIM

Sourced : Middle East Eye Russian cargo ships have been spotted transporting military equipment towards Syria, days after Moscow ordered its only aircraft carrier to home as part of a general drawdown of forces involved in the Syria conflict. The carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, was sent to the eastern Mediterranean in the autumn to mount… Continue reading RUSSIA SENDS MORE MILITARY GEAR TO SYRIA AFTER DRAWDOWN CLAIM

TURKEY AGREES TO WITHDRAW ITS TROOPS FROM NORTHERN IRAQ

Sourced : Al Arabiya Turkish Prime Minister Ben Ali Yildirim arrived in Baghdad on Saturday to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, and is expected to also meet President Fuad Masum and Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jubouri. Iraqi television quoted al-Abadi confirming an agreement reached with Turkey on the withdrawal of Turkish troops from northern… Continue reading TURKEY AGREES TO WITHDRAW ITS TROOPS FROM NORTHERN IRAQ

US ARMING YPG IN SYRIA “INTOLERABLE” FOR TURKEY

epa04586503 Members of the Syrian Kurdish People's Defence Units (YPG) celebrate their victory in Kobane, Syria, 26 January 2015. According to reports Kurdish fighters claim to have pushed militants from the group calling themselves Islamic State (IS) out of the whole of Kobane following four months of fighting, supported by airstrikes carried out by an international anti-IS coalition, though a number of the town's surrounding villages, close to the Syrian-Turkish border, remain in the hands of IS. EPA/STR

Sourced : Anadolou Agency By Mustafa Keles, Betul Yuruk & Burcu Arik Ankara considers the U.S. arming the YPG “intolerable” because the terror group poses a great threat to Turkey, that country’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Friday. “It is even so hard to accept a terror supporter country as an ally,” Cavusoglu said at… Continue reading US ARMING YPG IN SYRIA “INTOLERABLE” FOR TURKEY

CYPRUS SETTLEMENT TALKS OFFER GLIMMER OF HOPE FOR ISLAND

Sourced : Kathimerini By Michele Kambas It is a dispute that has brought NATO partners Greece and Turkey to the brink of war and confounded generations of diplomats; but Geneva negotiations next week offer the best chance in decades of reuniting the ethnically divided island of Cyprus. On the face of it, the omens are… Continue reading CYPRUS SETTLEMENT TALKS OFFER GLIMMER OF HOPE FOR ISLAND