Turkey launched an offensive in northern Syria on August 24 to clear Islamic State from its border and to prevent territorial gains by the Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara believes has links to Kurdish insurgents fighting on its soil.
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Speaking to reporters on his way back from the G20 summit, Erdogan said that Turkey was open to the idea reportedly floated by US President Barack Obama to recapture Daesh’s de facto Syrian capital. “We said this would not be a problem from our perspective”.
The priority for Washington, which backs rebel factions fighting Assad in the civil war, is destroying ISIS and it has been at odds with Turkey over the role of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. Damascus denounced the intervention as a breach of its sovereignty.
“Mr President (Erdogan) told Obama that as Turkey we look favourably carrying out such a joint operation”, he said.
Unfortunately, Turkey and its president Recep Tayyip Erdogan are apparently more concerned with eliminating the Kurds than the Islamic State.
He said there were 292 people in the first group of registered returnees, including women, children and the elderly.
He said more would return gradually.
Nurettin Canikli said Turkey would supply electricity to Jarablus on Saturday followed by water supplies days later.
The United Nations has in the past expressed caution about encouraging returns of civilians too soon.
South and west of Jarablus, Turkish forces have continued fighting.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Turkish military said ISIL “elements” had targeted two of its tanks “in a rocket attack” near the Syrian town of al-Rai.
On 7 September, UK foreign minister Boris Johnson and the High Negotiations Committee of the Syrian Opposition (HNC) and other foreign ministers from across the world meet in London.
It said Turkey’s rebel allies had taken six more villages, located in Islamic State-held areas, adding to dozens of settlements now under the control of Turkish-backed forces.
Three Turkish soldiers were killed and five others wounded during clashes with Daesh in northern Syria, government sources in Ankara said on Tuesday.
Russian Federation has voiced deep concerns over the advances made by Turkish troops in Syrian territory, warning that such actions could make the conflict gripping the Arab country more complicated.
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Al-Bab, northeast of Aleppo, is a key objective of the US-backed, Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces, which last month drove Islamic State out of the strategic town of Manbij after a hard-fought battle. In fact, just a few days ago, following comments by a U.S. military spokesman who had expressed hopes that rather than see Turkey pursue Kurdish fighters, “all parties involved are going to stop shooting at each other and focus” on IS, Ankara contacted the U.S. ambassador over comments the foreign ministry called “unacceptable”.
