Kurds

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Thousands of 'Betrayed' Kurds Flee Offensive

Turkey says it has lost one soldier and 'neutralized' hundreds of 'terrorists'

(Newser) - More than 60,000 people in northern Syria have fled a Turkish offensive that is now in its third day, aid groups say. Turkish forces pushed further into the region Thursday, carrying out air and ground attacks against Syrian Kurdish fighters, reports Reuters . The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says...

Trump Offers Bizarre Reason for Abandoning Kurdish Allies

'They didn't help us in Normandy,' he says

(Newser) - President Trump angered critics including fellow Republicans with bizarre remarks Wednesday downplaying the importance of the alliance between US and Kurdish forces against ISIS, and of alliances in general. The president defended his decision to allow a Turkish offensive in northern Syria by pointing out that Kurdish fighters did not...

US: 'Beatles' Members Taken Into Custody in Syria

El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Amon Kotey were allegedly in the notorious group

(Newser) - US officials say two captive British militants believed to be part of an Islamic State group that beheaded hostages have been taken into American custody and moved out of Syria, the AP reports. President Trump said earlier Wednesday that the US had moved some Islamic State prisoners amid fears they...

Erdogan Tweets Operation 'Peace Spring' Has Started

As WaPo looks at the prisons holding ISIS militants in the region

(Newser) - And so it begins. The AP reports Turkey's President Erdogan announced in a tweet that the incursion into northern Syria has begun. He said the operation, dubbed "Peace Spring," intends to eliminate "the threat of terror" against his country. The AP reports Turkey has launched airstrikes...

In Tweets, Subtle Shifts From Trump on Turkey
Pat Robertson Has Savage
Response to Trump Move
the rundown
Oct 8, 2019 1:16 PM CDT

Pat Robertson Has Savage Response to Trump Move

President could lose 'mandate of Heaven' if he facilitates the slaughter of the Kurds

(Newser) - President Trump on Tuesday took to Twitter to double down on his claims that he's not siding with Turkey over America's Kurdish allies with his decision to pull a small number of troops from northern Syria, a decision that apparently paves the way for Turkey to attack the...

Trump&#39;s Syria Decision Seen as Significant Policy Shift
Only 150 Troops Involved,
but Stakes Are Much Bigger
the rundown
Oct 7, 2019 10:55 AM CDT

Only 150 Troops Involved, but Stakes Are Much Bigger

Trump defends a Syrian withdrawal, while critics warn of the dangers

(Newser) - The US isn't withdrawing all of its troops from Syria, but it is withdrawing the 150 or so soldiers stationed at two posts near the Syrian border with Turkey. However, the small numbers involved belie the major foreign policy implications at stake. The move will allow Turkey to stage...

White House: Turkey to Invade Northern Syria

US to pull troops ahead of planned offensive

(Newser) - The White House said Sunday that Turkey will soon invade northern Syria, renewing fears of a slaughter of Kurdish fighters allied with the US in a yearslong campaign against ISIS. For months, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been threatening to launch a military assault on the Kurdish forces in...

Trump Threatens Ally With 'Economic Devastation'

He says Turkey will face consequences if it hits Kurds

(Newser) - The "long overdue" American withdrawal from Syria has begun, President Trump said in a tweet Sunday before casually threatening to destroy the economy of a NATO ally. Trump said the US will hit ISIS hard from an "existing nearby base" if it tries to rebuild its caliphate—and...

Turkish Leader to Bolton: You Made 'Grave Mistake'

Erdogan says US official erred in demanding safety of Kurds in Syria

(Newser) - The planned US withdrawal from Syria just got even thornier. Turkey's president criticized national security adviser John Bolton's comments on the issue and didn't meet with Bolton in a move widely perceived as a diplomatic snub. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took issue with Bolton's weekend statement...

Bolton: US Will Stay in Syria as Long as It Takes

He says there's no longer a fixed timetable

(Newser) - The timeline for the withdrawal of American troops from Syria has gone from 30 days to four months and now to no fixed date, according to John Bolton. He said "certain objectives" must be met before an American withdrawal could happen, the Washington Post reports. Bolton said there was...

Sen. Graham Had Quite the Lunch With Trump

Seems the US policy on Syria is changing

(Newser) - Seems Sen. Lindsey Graham had a productive lunch with the president. Emerging from a White House meal Sunday, he said President Trump is putting the brakes on US troop withdrawal from Syria: "I think we're slowing things down in a smart way," he said, per CNN . "...

With Trump Pulling Out, Russia and Turkey Schmooze

They plan to focus on the 'terrorist threat'

(Newser) - Top Russian and Turkish ministers agreed during a meeting in Moscow on Saturday to maintain cooperation in northern Syria as US forces prepare to withdraw and Turkey threatens to launch a military operation against US-backed Kurdish forces controlling nearly a third of the country, the AP reports. Russian Defense Minister...

Reporter Thrilled Trump Called Him 'Mr. Kurd'

The internet may have been insulted, but Rahim Rashidi was most definitely not

(Newser) - There were some gasps and raised eyebrows from Twitter after President Trump on Wednesday called upon a reporter during a news conference using the name "Mr. Kurd." Rahim Rashidi is not among the aghast, and his opinion matters more than most: He's Mr. Kurd. As the Washington ...

New Iraqi Battle Has Odd Twist for US

It pits one American-trained force (Iraq) against another (Kurds)

(Newser) - Iraqi Kurds voted for independence from Iraq last month, and one tangible result of the vote emerged Monday: Iraqi forces moved in. Baghdad, which considered the referendum illegal, is worried about losing control of the oil-rich Kirkuk region in the north. As a result, state-backed militias seized two oil fields...

Kurds Vote Overwhelmingly for Independence From Iraq

Baghdad is unmoved

(Newser) - The Kurds clearly want their own nation: Monday's referendum on independence from Iraq was approved by more than 92% of voters, officials said Wednesday. Even with the strong support, however, the non-binding vote is unlikely to lead to formal independence, per the AP . But the vote has escalated long-running...

In Iraq, a Controversial Bid for Independence

Baghdad issues warning as Kurds vote on breaking away

(Newser) - Iraqi Kurds cast ballots on Monday in Iraq's Kurdish region and disputed territories on whether to support independence from Baghdad in a historic but nonbinding vote that has raised regional tensions and fears of instability, the AP reports. More than 3 million people are expected to vote across the...

12 Years After Honor Killing, Brothers Acquitted—Again

2005 murder of woman over her 'Western lifestyle' rattled Germany

(Newser) - Hatun Surucu was 23 when her life ended at a Berlin bus stop a dozen years ago, three bullets fired into her head. The German-born ethnic Kurd's killer, her youngest brother, Ayhan, was allegedly avenging the family's honor—Hatun Surucu had divorced the husband she'd been forced...

US Will Supply Heavier Arms to Syrian Kurds to Fight ISIS

Turkey accuses the US of arming terrorists to fight terrorists

(Newser) - President Trump will provide heavier arms to Syrian Kurds in a move certain to anger Turkey, the New York Times reports. The US will supply YPG with things like anti-tank missiles and heavy machine guns so the Kurdish militia can help take Raqqa, a Syrian city serving as the capital...

Reports: British Fighter Killed Himself to Avoid ISIS Capture

20-year-old shot himself during Raqqa offensive, say Kurds

(Newser) - A 20-year-old British man who left his job as a chef to fight ISIS ended up killing himself to avoid capture, family members and Kurdish fighters say. Kurdish sources tell the BBC that Ryan Lock and four other fighters died after they were besieged by ISIS militants during an offensive...

A Day of Biden, Turkey, Syria Illustrates Convoluted Region

VP tries to make nice in Ankara

(Newser) - If you needed further proof of just how convoluted the situation in Syria is these days, look no further than Wednesday's visit by Joe Biden to Turkey. The main point of his trip didn't directly involve Syria—he was there to try to ease tensions with Ankara, which...

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