The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally has staged three air strikes against the Islamic State in Syria, a government official said. “He’s trying to get away from the pro-ISIS burden on his shoulders, because they’ve been supporting ISIS for some time”, he contended. [Erdogan] did not effectively close the border to prevent ISIS militants from crossing. In fact, there have been more strikes on PKK than on IS. The group claimed responsibility for a 2013 suicide bombing at U.S. Embassy in Ankara.
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To date, the Turkish military says at least 39 soldiers have been killed in the past weeks.
Erdogan has dismissed the Suruc allegation. Meanwhile, CemilBayık recently claimed that Barzani no longer has any support in a statement in which he said, “Erdoğan has learned his lesson”. Erdogan asked the Turkish Parliament to lift the immunity from prosecution of politicians with suspected links to militants while expressing his deep disdain towards Demirtash.
Turkey’s decision last month to join the fight, which seemed like a boost to the anti-ISIS coalition, looks like it may have been fueled less by the goal of defeating ISIS than by a drive by Turkey to push back against the Kurds’ impressive territorial gains.
Erdogan additionally guaranteed that U.S. President Barack Obama had begged him for Turkey to help keep the fall of the for the most part Kurdish Syrian town of Kobane to Islamic State jihadists in 2014. While the Kurdish upper and middle classes voted for the HDP, throwing their lot with Turkey for economic reasons, the younger generation is leaning toward militant separatism.
Turkey also launched airstrikes against the PKK in northern Iraq and within Turkey as part of its anti-terrorism efforts. Demirtas declined to criticize the U.S. role.
“Of course there are messages, there are meetings, letters and they are likely to develop more”, he said.
The Istanbul governor’s office said two members of a “terrorist group” armed with hand grenades and an automatic rifle were caught after attacking the Dolmabahce palace, popular with tourists and home to the prime minister’s Istanbul offices.
That feeling of alienation has grown with the collapse of the peace process.
Ankara launched raids against PKK positions in both Turkey and Iraq immediately after agreeing that America could use its airbases against Isil – something the Pentagon had long sought.
The deal drawn up by Washington and Ankara allowing U.S. forces to operate out of the Incirlik Air Base is also aimed at obstructing YPG fighters in Syria from making further advances against Islamic State near Turkey’s border and from strengthening the Kurd’s fight toward an independent state.
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On August 13 it became known that the ruling “Justice and Development” party of Turkey will not form a coalition government with the Kemalist Republican People’s Party. But he’s right that the secular, sophisticated Kurdish people “should not be sacrificed to short-term tactical moves”.
