Turkey Refuses ‘Terrorist Army’ on its Border with Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (AFP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (AFP)
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Turkey Refuses ‘Terrorist Army’ on its Border with Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (AFP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (AFP)

The Turkish National Security Council (MGK) reiterated on Wednesday Ankara’s condemnation of a Washington plan to set up a security border force in western Syria.

In a statement, the MGK said it would not allow the formation of a “terrorist army” along Turkish borders.

The US-led coalition in northern Syria said it was working with the mainly Kurdish YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to set up a new 30,000-strong border force.

Turkey will respond immediately to any threats from Western Syria that could harm the country or its citizens, stressed the MGK.

It demanded that all weapons given to Kurdish fighters in Syria be collected without delay.

It also advised the cabinet of ministers to extend the emergency rule imposed shortly after a 2016 coup attempt.

Ankara has frequently expressed its opposition to Washington’s arming of Kurdish forces in Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will launch a military offensive in the coming days against territories controlled by Kurdish forces in northwestern and eastern Syria, and in particular the enclave of Afrin.

The US move to form the border force has been rejected by Tehran, Damascus and the Syrian opposition.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he told US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that those plans were a "perilous" step that would "seriously endanger ties." The two met in Vancouver Tuesday.

"Such a development would damage Turkish-American ties in an irreversible manner," the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Cavusoglu as saying on Wednesday.

Erdogan said the imminent military operation is to "purge terror" from near its borders. Along with Afrin, Erdogan has also threatened Manbij, a town the Kurdish-led SDF seized from ISIS in 2016.



Britain 'Taking Forward' Gaza Food Airdrop Plan, Says PM Starmer's Office

A volunteer distributes rations of red lentil soup to displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 18, 2024. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)
A volunteer distributes rations of red lentil soup to displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 18, 2024. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)
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Britain 'Taking Forward' Gaza Food Airdrop Plan, Says PM Starmer's Office

A volunteer distributes rations of red lentil soup to displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 18, 2024. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)
A volunteer distributes rations of red lentil soup to displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 18, 2024. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday spoke to his French and German counterparts and outlined UK plans to get aid to people in Gaza and evacuate sick and injured children, his office said.

"The prime minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to airdrop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance," a statement said, AFP reported.

In a phone conversation, Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza "which they agreed is appalling".

"They all agreed it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently needed ceasefire into lasting peace," according to a readout released by Downing Street.

"They discussed their intention to work closely together on a plan.... which would pave the way to a long-term solution and security in the region. They agreed that once this plan was worked up, they would seek to bring in other key partners, including in the region, to advance it," it added.

The discussion comes a day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres slammed the international community for turning a blind eye to widespread starvation in the Gaza Strip, calling it a "moral crisis that challenges the global conscience".

Aid groups have warned of surging cases of starvation, particularly among children, in war-ravaged Gaza, which Israel placed under an aid blockade in March amid its ongoing war with Hamas. That blockade was partially eased two months later.

The trickle of aid since then has been controlled by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.