• Syria. Ankara: "Ready to cross the border". Artillery hits Kurdish positions
  • Damascus: Turkish artillery bombs the north-east of Syria
  • Syria, USA: "No withdrawal, it is only a question of moving 50-100 men
  • Syria: Trump dumps the Kurds, but is controversy in the US

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09 October 2019After days announcements and diplomatic pressing, the Turkish operation against the Kurdish militia in Syria has begun. This was announced by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Four explosions have been reported in the city of Ras al-Ain, on the border with Turkey, against positions of Kurdish militias of popular protection (Ypg), reports Al Jazeera.

Even before the official start of the attack, a series of artillery raids were carried out by Turkey in the last hours against Kurdish-Syrian positions in northern Syria, east and west of the Euphrates. This was reported by the National Observatory for Human Rights in Syria which cites local sources. The observatory states that artillery bombardments occurred during the night in the town of Ayn Issa, along the border between Turkey and Syria, and in the town of Minnagh, between Aleppo and the Turkish border.

5 thousand Turkish soldiers deployed
Five thousand Turkish special forces soldiers are ready to enter north-eastern Syria for the announced military operation against the Kurdish Ypg militias. Local media report that the commando brigade soldiers are on the border with dozens of armored convoys.

On twitter the Ankara warning: "Ready to cross the border"
The Turkish army, along with the free Syrian army (the local Arab militias co-opted by Ankara, ed), will soon cross the Turkish-Syrian border ". The head of communication of the Presidency of Ankara, Fahrettin Altun announced on Twitter.

The Turkish military, together with the Free Syrian Army, will cross the Turkish-Syrian border shortly.

YPG militants have two options: they can defect or stop them from disrupting our counter-ISIS efforts.https: //t.co/vQByIUQHQB

- Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) 8 October 2019



Damascus: we will face Turkish aggression
Syria is determined to face "Turkish aggression" with "all legitimate means". This was stated by a source in the Foreign Ministry of Damascus, quoted by the official news agency 'Sana'.

The source stressed that Syria "condemns in the strongest terms" Ankara's intentions to launch an offensive against Kurdish militias, calling it "a flagrant violation of international law and UN Security Council resolutions".

The source has therefore specified that if Turkey were to insist on the operation it will be considered as a "terrorist group" and will lose its status as a guarantor in the Astana process.

The Kurds announce general mobilization
The Kurdish-Syrian authorities have announced a general mobilization and warning throughout the Syrian north-east to defend themselves against the "threats of the Turkish army and its mercenaries to attack the north-eastern Syrian border region". This was reported by a press release from the autonomous administration of north-eastern Syria published by the media. The communiqué invites "all the members of our people to go to the border area with Turkey to fulfill their moral duty of resistance in this delicate and historic moment"

Erdogan-Putin call on offensive
The presidents of Turkey and Russia, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin, had a telephone conversation about the imminent military operation in Ankara in the north-east of Syria. The sources of the Ankara Presidency report this. In the interview, the Turkish leader updated his Russian counterpart on the preparation of the army for the offensive, arguing that he will make a "contribution of peace and stability" to the area.

Rohani, Turkey avoids military intervention
"Turkey's concerns regarding its southern borders are legitimate", but it should act with moderation and avoid military intervention in Syria. Iranian President Hassan Rohani, quoted by Irna, said this. We believe that we need to follow a correct path to eliminate these concerns "of Ankara." American troops must leave the region "and" the Kurds in Syria "must" support the Syrian army "of Basharal Assad, who should take control of the north East of the country on the Turkish border, explained Rohani.

The alarm for the ISIS war
Turkey's offensive against Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria risks weakening the fight against ISIS and creating a new humanitarian crisis in the country. The alarm is raised by the government of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan. A statement reads that the authorities in Erbil are "very concerned about the US decision to withdraw from the safe zone in northeastern Syria and the news of a potential unilateral military operation by Turkey". "The government - the statement continues - calls on Turkey, as a member of the global coalition, to avoid any initiative that could damage the progress made against ISIS, including jeopardizing the detention of foreign fighters". "The consequences of a military escalation - concluded Erbil, according to the broadcaster 'Rudaw' - have implications that go beyond the borders of Syria, creating the conditions for a return of ISIS and for many displaced persons".

The Free Syrian Army: in 14 thousand with Turkey
The Free Syrian Army (ELS) has completed preparations for a new military operation in northern Syria and with a contingent of 14,000 men it is ready to fight alongside Turkey. The Turkish media reported that Els reached the province of Urfa, on the border with Syria, with trucks loaded with ammunition and heavy weapons. On the basis of what was announced by the Turkish agency Anadolu, the battalions Hamza Tumeni and Suleyman Shah had completed a phase of preparation for the intervention in Syria in recent days and will be able to use other 2,000 soldiers who have recently completed the phase of training. The Els battalions joined the Turkish army in the operation "Shield of the Euphrates", with which the area north of Syria west of the Euphrates in 2017 was removed from ISIS control, while on the offensive on Afrin from 2018, called "Olive branch", the Els militias smashed in from the east, helping to drive the Syrian Pyd-Ypg Kurds out of the area. The chief of the Hamza Tumeni, Abu Bakir, declared last Sunday at the Anadolu agency that the contingent he heads counts about 6,500 men of Arab ethnicity, Syrian and Kurdish turcophone, ready for military intervention. In recent days, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey is ready for a military operation in northern Syria, to eliminate Pyd-Ypg from the region east of the Euphrates river.

The August 7 agreement between the US and Turkey
Last August 7, the United States and Turkey had found an agreement, later called by Erdogan "a fairy tale", to gain control of an area about 32 km deep, extended for 480 km in Syrian territory east of the Euphrates to the border with Iraq. Area of ​​which Turkey is now determined to gain control with unilateral intervention.