Turkish Army Enters Syria Unannounced

[Bleipriester]

Erdogan´s troops enter al-Qaeda´s interim Caliphate in Idlib. Is that a demonstration of solidarity for the terrorists?

"The Turkish Army has reportedly crossed their southern border and entered Syria by way of the ‘Etmeh crossing inside the Idlib Governorate on Tuesday morning; this act of defiance marks the second time this year that the Turkish Army has deliberately crossed the Syrian-Turkish border to enter Syria’s northern countryside.

According to social media activists inside the Idlib Governorate, a Turkish tank brigade crossed the border into the Syrian town of ‘Etmeh, where they took-up their positions at the Al-Halaqa Mountains in order begin building a wall along the border.


The purpose of this Turkey Army movement is not entirely know nor their current status inside the town of ‘Etmeh; however, the Turkish Government has expressed their dissatisfaction in the recent Russian airstrikes over the Idlib, Hama, Al-Raqqa, Aleppo, Latakia, and Deir Ezzor Governorates, as they have primarily targeted the Islamist rebels and the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS).

Earlier this year, the Turkish Army crossed into northern Aleppo after ISIS threatened to destroy the Suleiman Shah tomb – they recovered the artifacts and moved the remains to Turkey after they left Syria.

Some military analysts still believe that the Turkey is planning on implementing a no-fly-zone over northern Syria, but their recent actions have been viewed more as a threat than a promise."

Turkish Army Enters Syria Unannounced

 

[JakeStarkey]

Turkey has no power to enforce a no fly zone.

 

[Bleipriester]

Turkey has no power to enforce a no fly zone.

They have no moderates to be protected. And if they don´t start to rethink their crimes and start to be careful, Russia could make them a no fly zone. However, Syria owns also advanced means to down planes.

 

[waltky]

Syria views U.S. help as aggression, Saudi's say Assad must go...

Syrian MP: US decision to send troops is act of aggression
Oct 31,`15 -- The United States' decision to send troops into Syria is an act of aggression because it does not have the government's agreement, a Syrian member of parliament said Saturday.

Sharif Shehadeh told The Associated Press that the troops will have no effect on the ground, but that Washington wants to say it is present in Syria. "What has happened to make America realize, after five years, that it should send between 30 and 50 military advisers?" asked Shehadeh, referring to the start of the country's crisis in March 2011 that has since killed more than 250,000 people. American officials say up to 50 special operations troops will be sent to assist Kurdish and Arab forces in northern Syria. A U.S.-led coalition has been targeting the Islamic State group with airstrikes since September 2014, killing 12,000 extremists without weakening the group.

The decision to send U.S. troops to Syria comes a month after Russia began launching airstrikes against insurgents in the country. Russia's airstrikes were agreed upon with the Syrian government. "When America sends ground forces into Syrian territories without an agreement with the Syrian government it becomes an intervention and aggression," Shehadeh said by telephone. "Will America allow Russian ground forces to go into America without an agreement? I think the answer is no." The U.S. has conducted special operations raids in Syria before and is expected to continue to carry out more unilateral raids.

The U.S. decision came as activists said some rebel groups, as well as the main U.S.-backed Kurdish militia known as the YPG, are preparing for an offensive against IS in its de facto capital of Raqqa. Earlier this month, U.S. cargo planes dropped small arms and ammunition to Arab groups fighting IS in northern Syria in what appeared to be preparation for the attack. On Saturday, the Democratic Forces of Syria, a coalition of Arab, Christian and Kurdish factions in northern Syria, declared that they have started an operation to "liberate" areas south of the northeastern city of Hassekeh. IS has several strongholds in the predominantly Kurdish province of Hassakeh that borders Iraq.

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Saudi FM says Assad's departure, Iran's role sticking points on Syria deal
October 31, 2015 – Saudi Arabia's top diplomat says the timing of the departure of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the withdrawal of foreign fighters remain the main sticking points to finding a lasting resolution to the war in Syria.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir made the comments Saturday at the Manama Dialogue security conference in Bahrain, just hours after leaving high-level talks in Vienna aimed at ending the war in Syria.

He sounded a downbeat tone on the state of the negotiations, saying "We have not been able to reach agreement." He says the presence of foreign fighters, particularly Iranians, is aggravating the crisis.

He says the oil-rich kingdom's policy toward Syria has not changed, and that it will continue to support the moderate Syrian opposition.

Saudi FM says Assad's departure, Iran's role sticking points on Syria deal

 

[JakeStarkey]

The USA does not care about Assad and what he thinks.

Turkey has had troops in Syria for months.

 

[waltky]

ISIS captures new territory in eastern Syria...

Islamic State seizes new areas from troops in eastern Syria
January 18, 2016 | Islamic State militants launched a fresh offensive Monday, taking advantage of a sandstorm that sharply reduced visibility in eastern Syria and capturing new areas from government forces near the city of Deir el-Zour, opposition activists said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the militants captured areas just north of the city, including an army base known as the "Saiqa Camp" and parts of arms depots in the village of Ayash. Opposition activist Omar Abu Leila reported that IS fighters had in fact captured the entire Ayash village, which is just north of another town that IS captured over the weekend. The Observatory and Abu Leila, who is from Deir el-Zour but currently lives in Europe, said the sandstorm reduced visibility in Deir el-Zour, giving advantage to IS fighters who pressed their offensive without fear of being hit from the air by Syria's air force, grounded by the bad weather.

Over the weekend, IS captured several areas in Deir el-Zour province, killing scores of troops and civilians and capturing hundreds in this province bordering Iraq, according to activists and state media. The extremist group appears to be trying to reverse a string of defeats in Syria and Iraq over the past months. IS controls most of Deir el-Zour province and much of the capital with the same name, while the government controls several districts in the northern part of the city and the adjacent military airport. Most of the casualties in the latest fighting occurred in the area of Baghaliyeh near the city.

If IS captures the whole city of Deir el-Zour it will be a major boost for the group as they will be in control of two provincial capitals in Syria. IS already controls the northern Syrian city of Raqqa — the militant group's de facto capital — in the province by the same name. "Daesh is trying to capture Deir el-Zour to achieve a victory after its recent failures in Syria and Iraq," said the Observatory's chief Rami Abdurrahman. Syria's government said Sunday that IS killed 300 people in an "appalling massacre" over the weekend in the city of Deir el-Zour. The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Baghaliyeh was the scene of a "bloody massacre committed by the Daesh terrorist organization," referring to IS under its Arabic acronym.

Abdurrahman said areas under the control of the government in Deir el-Zour city are home to some 200,000 people who have been under siege for months. He added that Monday's fighting left dozens of troops dead or wounded. Abu Leila, who heads the Deir Ezzor 24 news network, said clashes on the northern edge of the city focused around the Heart Hospital. The Observatory and Deir Ezzor 24 reported that among the dead Monday was senior army officer, Brig. Gen. Samer Amin Ali. The Islamic State group, which controls large parts of Syria and Iraq where it declared an Islamic caliphate in June 2014, suffered several defeats recently in both countries, including the loss of the Iraqi city of Ramadi and parts of northern and northeastern Syria over the past months.

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