https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/bre...an-region/

"A throng Kurdish protesters stormed the headquarters of the Turkish military in the Dohuk Governorate of the Iraqi-Kurdistan region, NRT TV reported this afternoon.

According to the NRT TV report, the protesters stormed the Turkish Army’s HQ inside the town of Shiladze, prompting some of the soldiers to leave their base....


The people are reportedly protesting the recent Turkish airstrikes that killed several civilians and a Peshmerga soldier on January 23rd."

Manbij warns Turks against invasion.
http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/24012019

The local forces which liberated around one-third of Syria from the clutch of ISIS warn they will not allow a unilateral Turkish operation in northeastern Syria because they fear the result will be an Afrin-like occupation with hundreds of thousands displaced.


“… we will not accept any Turkish incursion into the areas we have liberated, no matter the words used to describe it,” wrote Manbij Military Council Spokesperson Shervan Derwish in a New York Times opinion piece published on Thursday.

Manbij, a city of 700,000, is located west of the Euphrates. Turkey has repeatedly threatened to “cleanse its border of terrorists” even if it means boots on Syrian soil....

In early 2018, Turkey conducted Operation Olive Branch with the help of proxy fighters called the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The result was the displacement of an estimated 300,000 people. Crops were burned, schools and administrative buildings taken over by the Turkish-backed forces, and the establishment of institutions that obediently follow orders from Ankara.

“If the United States allows Turkey to attack Manbij, that will be our fate, too,” argued Derwish.

He pleaded with global powers to not “play Turkey’s games” — in particular US President Donald Trump who, against the advice of senior diplomats and defense officials, announced that he will withdraw all US forces from Syria.

Derwish, who survived an assassination attempt blamed on Turkish proxy militias last year, reiterated that all YPG forces have left Manbij.

“We believe that Mr. Erdogan fears not the presence or the absence of any given military force but the peaceful and democratic coexistence of Arabs, Kurds, Christians and others in northeastern Syria,” he added...."

(01-26-2019 08:49 PM)bullet Wrote:  Manbij warns Turks against invasion.
http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/24012019

The local forces which liberated around one-third of Syria from the clutch of ISIS warn they will not allow a unilateral Turkish operation in northeastern Syria because they fear the result will be an Afrin-like occupation with hundreds of thousands displaced.


“… we will not accept any Turkish incursion into the areas we have liberated, no matter the words used to describe it,” wrote Manbij Military Council Spokesperson Shervan Derwish in a New York Times opinion piece published on Thursday.

Manbij, a city of 700,000, is located west of the Euphrates. Turkey has repeatedly threatened to “cleanse its border of terrorists” even if it means boots on Syrian soil....

In early 2018, Turkey conducted Operation Olive Branch with the help of proxy fighters called the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The result was the displacement of an estimated 300,000 people. Crops were burned, schools and administrative buildings taken over by the Turkish-backed forces, and the establishment of institutions that obediently follow orders from Ankara.

“If the United States allows Turkey to attack Manbij, that will be our fate, too,” argued Derwish.

He pleaded with global powers to not “play Turkey’s games” — in particular US President Donald Trump who, against the advice of senior diplomats and defense officials, announced that he will withdraw all US forces from Syria.

Derwish, who survived an assassination attempt blamed on Turkish proxy militias last year, reiterated that all YPG forces have left Manbij.

“We believe that Mr. Erdogan fears not the presence or the absence of any given military force but the peaceful and democratic coexistence of Arabs, Kurds, Christians and others in northeastern Syria,” he added...."

Looks like the Russians are trying to leverage the situation by forcing us to take a stand against Turkey. I don't think this will end well for the Kurds.

I was disappointed we let them down in Iraq. It wasn't just Obama. The Bush administration did as well.

The Kurds in Syria are basically communists and don't get along well with the Kurds in Iraq.

So they are divided. And they face Turkish, Iraqi and Iranian enemies.