• Germany and France: no arms to Turkey. Di Maio: we will ask for EU embargo. Trump: sanctions in Ankara
  • Di Maio: enough arms to Turkey
  • The conflict in Syria. Germany blocks arms sales to Ankara
  • Syria, Turkey announces "liberation" Ras Ain but the Kurds deny it
  • The attack on the Kurds in Syria: the first Turkish soldier died, thousands of civilians fleeing

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October 13, 2019

About 10,000 displaced Syrians, including relatives of ISIS jihadists, gathered in the Ayn Issa camp, between Raqqa and the Turkish border are exposed to the Turkish military advance and the militias co-opted by Ankara. This was reported this morning by the National Observatory for Human Rights in Syria, which states that the Kurdish-Syrian police, known as Asayesh, abandoned the task of maintaining security around the refugee camp, effectively leaving the displaced persons to their fate.

Meanwhile, Germany, France and Holland have decided to stop military supplies in Ankara. "On Monday at the EU council of foreign ministers, as a government, we will demand that the whole EU block arms sales to Turkey," announces Di Maio.

The Pope calls for dialogue: seeking effective solutions
"My thoughts go once again to the Middle East," the Pope said today at the Angelus. In particular, "to the beloved and tormented Syria, from where dramatic news come again about the fate of the populations of the north-east of the country, forced to abandon their homes because of military actions: among these populations there are also many Christian families" . "To all the actors involved and to the international community, please, I renew the appeal to engage with sincerity, with honesty and transparency, on the path of dialogue to seek effective solutions".

The conflict
The Turkish armed forces, on the fifth day of the offensive in the north-east of Syria, claim to have conquered the town of Suluk, considered a strategic crossroads 10 km from the border. The Anadolu news agency reported. Ankara troops claim to have "freed" Suluk from the Kurdish formations of the YPG. But a Kurdish source instead told the PA that the fighting is still ongoing.

The Syrian observatory for human rights, a body based in London, has made it known instead that the Kurdish Ypg militias have inflicted defeats on the free Syrian army (Els), an ally of Turkey, in the north of Syria, in the Ras area al ayn. The latter is an important center in the area of ​​which Ankara wants to take control east of the Euphrates River, which came under Turkish control yesterday. However, as reported by the observatory, Kurdish Ypg militias have launched a counteroffensive today, regaining control of some villages. A counter-attack indirectly confirmed by the Ankara Ministry of Defense, which through a press release announced that the Turkish army has control of 14 villages and the town of Suluk, conquered this morning, while last night it turned out that Els had penetrated into other 4 villages (18 in total), all in the Ras Al Ayn area.

US accuses: "From Turkey deliberate attack on our troops"
The Turks knew of the American presence in northeastern Syria when they fired artillery shells. And the attack may have been wanted. American officials report it to the Washington Post, raising the hypothesis that Turkey has voluntarily bombed near the American outpost with the probable goal of removing US troops from the border. Brett McGurk, the former special envoy of Barack Obama and Donald Trump in the campaign against ISIS, believes that the Turkish attack "was not a mistake".

"Turkey wants us away from the border region. Based on the facts available, the shots fired were a warning to a known location, not shots fired inadvertently," adds McGurk. What happened with the Turkish coups near the American post is far more serious than what has been leaked so far, reports the Washington Post. The United States has communicated in detail to Turkey where US troops are.

Trump's warning
"I have clearly told Turkey that if they do not keep their commitments, including the protection of religious minorities, we will impose very harsh sanctions," said American President Donald Trump, pointing out that US troops cannot stay in Syria for another 15 years "by controlling the border with Turkey when we can't control ours ". Trump points out that his administration defends Christians and religious minorities in Iraq and around the world.