Kurdish militia repels Turkish Afrin invasion amid continuing Turkish air blitz
Russian forces did not interfere when 72 Turkish jets Saturday night pounded 100 Kurdish YPG targets in the north Syrian enclave of Afrin. Early Sunday, Jan. 21, Kurdish and Syrian opposition sources confirmed that Turkish troops trying to enter Afrin clashed with the Kurdish militia on the northern and western edges of the enclave and were pushed back. Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan continued to issue dire threats, saying, “Beginning from the west, step by step, we will annihilate the terror corridor up to the Iraqi border. No one can say a word. Whatever happens we don’t care anymore.”
The Turks have cynically dubbed their assault on the Kurds, “Operation Olive Branch.” Kurdish leaders are reported to have opened secret negotiations with the Assad regime for opening the door to the Syrian army to enter their enclave on the assumption that Erdogan will not wish to open a new warfront with Damascus. Turkey’s deputy prime minister Bekir Bozdaq said that Ankara would preserve Syria’s territorial integrity after it achieved its objective and Turkish troops would cross back home.
DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the Turkish army has so far not gone further than exploratory steps in its campaign against the Kurdish YPG in Afrin. A major offensive with large numbers of foot soldiers and tanks has not taken place as yet. Erdogan appears to be pulling his punches to test whether the US will come to the aid of its Kurdish allies. But the question still open is: Will he go through with his threat to capture Kurdish lands spanning northern Syria from the Turkish border to the Syrian border with Iraq? If he does and succeeds in pulling off this ambitious campaign, Turkish troops will override the region declared just a few days ago as being under American military protection and secured by a new US-trained and armed Border Defense Force of 30,000 men. Will the 2,000 US military personnel deployed in the bases there then intervene? Russia has made its position clear by refraining from interfering with the Turkish air offensive although its forces control the skies over Afrin.
Waiting for the US to stop the Turks/support
the kurdish freedom fighters?????
Woaaaaaa…..You believe in santa clause?!?!?!
Mr Trump is heading to Davos – having a great time there….
He will do as the former pres. – throw them under the bus….
Repels?? Hahahah
Only in your dreams
Pathetic
The turks have taken the bait. ‘Good luck’ getting out of the war.
As far as I’m concerned, Erdogan is the real terrorist – just another thug. Let’s hope he gets a bloody nose.
amein
Erdogan’s real objective is nothing short of mass murder. He has been terrorizing the Kurds for decades in Turkey and Iraq, and nothing has curtailed Kurdish aspirations for independence. May he and his vile party find themselves hoisted by their own petards over this criminal action.
United States government debt : 20,5 TRILLION Dollars……. The “”DEBT CEILING”” having been raised 80 times since 1960……. And, absolutely no possibility of this debt being paid……. The U.S dollar is no more than “””USED TOILET PAPER”””…….. And : “””USA = THE GODDAMN SEWER of the WHOLE PLANET””” has a “”TOILET PAPER CURRENCY””……. Great match…….
yet you love that BBQ in Atlanta.
and you wish you had some of that TP!
For Us and EU, Pkk is officially recognized as a terrorist group. When the YPG (under the auspices of the US-sanctioned Syrian Democratic Forces) reclaimed Raqqa last year, they publicly staged a victorious parade through the city’s stadium and unfurled a giant poster of the terrorist PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is jailed in Turkey. They are same group with different name.
Once again the World is mum about Turkey’s slaughter of Kurds, like the World was mum on the Armenian genocide committed by the Turks !
Turkey is a terrorist nation who invades neighboring countries under the excuse of self defense…what is even more sad for humanity is that other more ‘civilized ‘ countries allow them to do so!! Turkey you have taken one step further then what you believe your strength is…good luck exiting Syria!!!
The same exact thing can be said for Israel. Each nation will do what’s in its best interest
That’s funny Bruce that you make a comment like that when its the dictator erdogan doing it, saying “countries must do what’s in their best interest”. And in this case the Kurds of Syria have done nothing to Turkey to elicit this campaign of terror on them.
But if Israel bombs Hamas after having rocket after rocket shot at their civilians, your comments are always about how Israel is a terrorist state. How the world should condemn them and all your other pro palestinian terrorist support that you spew on here on a weekly basis.
We can read through your garage you disgusting hypocrite. Your one of three things;
1.) An American or European libtard.
2.) A natzi lover
3.) A douchebag Russia lover
Either way, no body takes what you say seriously, you change no minds with your hypocrisy. People just think your a brain washed buffoon!
Now go back home to press tv or Russia today with the other morons.
Thats right! Bruce is a Brainwashed troll kid. G-d bless Israel and the true friends of Israel!
You left 1 small detail out. Israel is illegally occupying Palestine and the entire world recognizes that. They deserve everything they get plus some.
No actually Bruce you left 1 thing out, Israel got tired of facing extinction every 5 years with huge multi nation wars against them – ” So it was in their best interest”, to take over Judea and Samaria and what was once there physical and always eternal capitol of Jerusalem!
Again, this is the problem with you idiots Bruce, your on the wrong side of history and most importantly on the wrong side of the truth.
The one who will get what is deserved is people like you Bruce, who can’t make a comprehensive statement for why your beliefs are so screwed up.
Go somewhere where people will believe your crap, here’s not the place. All can see through you types.
Good comment RC. These people are unbelievable. I like the way he says “The whole world agrees” What’s that? The whole of the muslim infected UN and coward lefty EU and few other hangers-on..?
To RC, you say- ” Israel is illegally occupying Palestine and the entire world recognizes that.”
Take note:
1. There is no State of Palesting
2. The UN created two areas; one for Jews & one for Arabs. Jews accepted, Arabs didn’t and invaded the Jewish area vowing to wipe out the Jews.(You can easily find these quotes from Arab rulers of that time.)
3. Up until WW2, Jews were referred to as “Palestinians” (see the “Palestinian Brigade” primarily composed of Jews created by the British) while the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem at the time spent much of the war in Berlin with Hitler (again, a little historical research will bear this out).
4. Israel’s constitution and Declaration of Independence declared that Arabs in Israel would be treated well and offered peace with its Arab neighbors (see Israel’s Declaration of Independence –easy to do).
5. Israeli Arab population is treated better than Arabs in surrounding Arab countries –the go to the same restaurants as Israeli Jews, swim in the same pools, go to the same beaches, are represented in Israel’s Parliament, Supreme Court and Diplomatic Corps. SO GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE SAND.
actually the kurds did most of the armenian slaying at the behest of the turks and as a reward
the kurds got to inhabit those armenian lands .
So the kurds are always someone’s henchmen.
I would not give up the kurds that lightly, highly effective and driven for freedom wishes, this is hard to conquer. On the other hand Turkish army is very large, but not very competent except for the air force. Very interesting to see if the new emperor is willing to sacrifice 1000s of soldiers. We will see…
Free Kurdistan!
USA is supporting Apoist suicide bombers. I hate groups which are using suicide bombers. Hamas, Hesbollah, DAESH, Taliban, Al Qaide are the same with PKK-YPG.
If they can only use F16’s to blow people up, that would make it all right.
Turkish men have little balls and cry a lot. They will be pushed back into Turkey. They are inconsequential little men.
With an estimated 40 F-4’s and 245 F-16’s, will be a tough task to shoot down all those active against the Kurds. The ManPads the Kurds are getting will be effective, but only at relatively close range, not with stand off air weapons shot from a safe distance. The downside for the Turks is the cost of their air and if ground force operations, wherein plenty of effective antitank and anti armored personnel carrier weapons are readily available to the Kurds, is something the Turks can ill afford, and wherein they will not be aided by their NATO co-members simply because the Turks are the aggressor here and that such joint tasking is not cut and dried, it is always up to member interpretation. And if the Russian or USA get militarily involved vs. the Turks, its end game for the Turks and likely the Erdogan regime.
“Such a beautiful day in the neighborhood, another beautiful day in the neighborhood, won’t you be my, won’t you be my….”
Why did Erdogan do this?
Because he is a megalomaniac (and a crazed muslim)
putin is a bitch once again or the s300 s400 just down right sucks.
40 F4 and 245 F16…
The Capability of an Air Force doesn’t depends only on the number of aircraft…
It depends also from: the training level of the pilots; from the number of pilots in order to be able o mantein a high “Operation Tempo”; from how many airplanes can you get in the air everyday (modern jets need a lot of maintnance hours); from your stocks of weapons and fuel; the equipment you have on your planes; targeting capability…
After the failed coup the Turkish Air Force got weakned because they were the bulk of the golpist. Many pilots were removed and this surelly reflects on the training level of the and on the “Operation Tempo” you can mantain. The Turks are probably able to bomb but their targeting capability doesn’t look to be so high so they might be able to go for quantity but not for quality.
A good example is the Israeli Air Force… It doesn’t have the numbers of the Turkish Air Force but it mantains high level of training, strategic stocks of weapons and fuel, planes whit state of the art equipment and very good targeting capability.
Not I said, “all those active against the Kurds” meaning only those aircraft that can effectively get up into the air for battle, which is likely 30% to 50% of their total numbers.
Correction: the estimate of the number of Turkish F-4Es is 49, not 40. And, ironically, it had been largely Israel who modernized the F-4Es in Turkey, wherein the remaining aircraft are utilized as target drones in the USA being that they are decades ago obsolete. Saying that, it would be the F-16s that would be the main means if Turkish Air Force attack against relatively defenseless Kurds … until they obtain and learn to operate effective anti-aircraft weapons.
Let’s recall the reason why Turkey is a member of NATO. This reason does not exist today since Turkey’s policy contradicts its role in NATO. It licks the boots of Russians and purchases from them military systems. An unhonorable discharge of Turkey from NATO is overdue by at least 5 years. Since enthroning of Erdogan dynasty and proclamation of Turkey as Sunnah Islamic Republic, the presence of Turkey in NATO is an insult to intelligence and a grave security risk to other members of this pathetic organization.
I don’t understand why you are not talking Greece about s300 bought from Russia, does Greece exit from nato and licking Russian Nephilim boots?
Almost half of Afrin canton is under control by this noon, 14 villages freed from your Kurdish proxies , strategic Birshaya mountain captured by Turkish army and allies. Second front already opened in Azez this morning . Syria is clearing its troops on the road to Menbij aiming to give safe passage to TR and her allied forces for a third front.
Your boys already started crying loud requesting help from US . We will all see if someone dares to reach their cries.
Next time before you and your big brothers in Washington decide to give 4.800 trucks of weapons to PKK and try to force us to accept a proxy US/Israeli army reaching to 100.000 people on our borders , you will think again.
Metin.Are you also one of the 98% So called Turks with no Asian background`?
Take a look at real Turk Races,they look Asian-most Turkish people not!Turkish people are a lie.
You are all Greeks,Armenians,Caucasians,Kurds,Arabs and robbed Slavs.
You are right, plus Trump was send 4K trucks weapons and %50 already f*cked after Turkey airforce visits. They have not any idea about Turkish pilot, plain was Just 20 meter while aim their weapons depot.
Trump can send them another 100K trucks weapons, useless, doesn’t matter.
Think about only one minute if Israel had gone into Gaza using 72 jfighter jets and nearly 30 thousands militaries plus many hundreds tanks shelling indiscriminately against civilians …what would they said in so called Islamic world…..and how loud Erdogan would shout?
yes you must think One minute …
Anti-tank missiles would be more useful than MANPADs to halt a ground invasion…
MANPAD KOSKESH IS FOR EARPLAYNE YA DOMBASS
Lets see how long those M48s and Toyota Technicals last. In my humble opinion the Kurds are motivated and on familiar ground. We will see some grunt work here and the Turks better be willing to spend a lot of money. That’s because our “people” in WA have more money than the Turkish GDP. Man for man I bet the Kurds turn them back. They have a fervor that well fed Turks do not. Same old thing for Turkish soldiers, they just want to go home.
A lot of russian Kornet or even older anti-tank missiles bought on the black market by the CIA and supplied to the Kurds would turn WannabeSulta Erdogan latest show of force in a great defeat…
Turkey need cease and desist, as blow back could involve asymmetrical in-Turkey terrorism purposely to disrupt tourism that is a huge part of its GNP.
https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic-impact-research/countries-2017/turkey2017.pdf
The Turkish army is the strongest army in the region.
80 million people and 40 million ready soldiers.
You’ll see.
After there will be Münbiç and Rakka operations.Turks do not hesitate to fight with america and russia and ypg pkk daeş and all terrorist
what is the united doing in syria ? the only thing they have being doing in the last 40 years creating war chaos to sell more weapons and steal their oil .
Pigdogan is a wana be Hitler. He will soon wind up in the muslim paradise giving pleasure to 72 camels.Long live Kurdistan. Turkey is a stupid bird full of stuffing. The prophet Sam Popack predicts that turkey will get the stuffing kicked out of them.
The Turks must be watched since their history shows they have no problem with committing genocide such as what they did when they systematically murdered the Armenian People over different religion. The Kurdish People and Jewish People ate endangered again by the Evil Iranian, Syrian, russian, and european alliance of Jew haters and Shite Supremacist SS gangs may yhe G-d Of Israel wipe out Israel’s enemies soon in our days BH!
https://www.facebook.com/OzelKuvvetCom/videos/1864508593839069/?q=fethi%20ahmet%20y%C3%BCsel