On August 24 morning, the Turkish Air Force with the support of the coalition aircrafts launched an operation to liberate the city of Jarabulus from the IS militants in northern Syria, near Aleppo city.
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Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army rebels have cleared the area between the northern Syrian border towns of Azaz and Jarablus, Turkey’s prime minister Binali Yildirim said.
With Ankara being at odds with Washington over ongoing Turkish ground operations against ISIS which hampers operations of the US-backed forces, the Russian Foreign Ministry also urged Turkey to “coordinate its military actions in Syria with Damascus, refrain from attacking opposition and ethnic groups”.
On the military front, the Turks have always been concerned by the successes of the Kurdish YPG militia in Syria, claiming that these fighters are indistinguishable from the militants of the PKK, who have been fighting Ankara’s rule in the south-east of Turkey for decades.
Speaking to The Independent, a spokesperson for the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said IS had conceded control of its last two villages on the border, retreating to positions around 7-8km to the south.
Syrian state media is reporting that multiple bomb blasts have struck government and military targets around the country.
As for the normalization of Turkey-Russia relations, Putin said the process was ongoing and both peoples sincerely wanted to improve bilateral ties.
Ankara fears that advances by the Kurdish YPG militia, which has been one of the most effective partners for the USA coalition fighting IS, will embolden Kurdish militants on its own soil.
Some 5,000 USA and Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have crossed into northern Syria from Turkey to participate in the so-called Euphrates Shield operation, according to local journalist Adnan al-Hussein, who is embedded with the groups. The Islamic State group claimed twin suicide bombings in the neighboring coastal towns of Tartus and Jableh in May that killed over 160 people.
Sources believe that Turkey is trying to make a safe area for refugees over the 98 Km southern border with Jarablus-Azaz.
For Erdogan, the big threat is the secession of the south-east corner of the country where Kurds (20 per cent of Turkey’s population) are the local majority.
In March it lost Palmyra to Syrian government troops, and last month it lost Manbij in northern Syria to the US-backed Syrian Kurds after another long siege.
Military wise, Turkish army-backed FSA brigades were able to gain control over seven villages to the north of Aleppo, Syria on Monday.
“We have said that if there is one more rocket here, we will destroy you”.
Meanwhile, the recapture and return to siege of rebel-held parts of Aleppo dealt a major blow to insurgent groups and risked causing a new humanitarian crisis.
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The U.S. moved quickly to de-escalate tensions between the two groups it considers close allies so that Turkey could refocus its military goals on defeating Islamic State, according to officials familiar with the situation.
