Turkey Says Will Intervene in Afrin and Manbij, ‘Not Satisfied' with US Assurance 

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu / AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu / AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN
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Turkey Says Will Intervene in Afrin and Manbij, ‘Not Satisfied' with US Assurance 

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu / AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu / AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN

Turkey on Thursday said it will intervene in Syria's Afrin and Manbij to counter the threat posed by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), describing as far from satisfactory US assurances playing down plans to create a border force made up of the Kurdish forces.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told CNN Turk in an interview that Turkey would intervene in Afrin and Manbij to counter the YPG.

Washington's support of the YPG has infuriated Turkey, particularly after the US-led coalition said it would help set up a new 30,000-strong border force that includes the YPG.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday he had met with Cavusoglu to clarify the issue and said it had been "misportrayed, misdescribed".

Although the Pentagon said late Wednesday it does not plan to create an "army," Cavusoglu stressed that "the establishment of a so-called terror army would cause irreversible damage in our relations ... it is a very serious situation.”

The Pentagon said the force is aimed at fighters from ISIS and maintaining stability in areas recaptured from the militants.

"Did this satisfy us in full? No, it did not," Cavusoglu told CNN-Turk.

Turkey accuses the YPG of being a branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that has waged an insurgency in its southeast since 1984.



Israeli Forces Storm Major West Bank City of Nablus

Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)
Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)
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Israeli Forces Storm Major West Bank City of Nablus

Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)
Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)

Israel launched a large-scale military operation on Tuesday in the old city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, AFP journalists reported, with the army reporting injured troops and two Palestinians "eliminated".

Dozens of military vehicles entered the city shortly after midnight, an AFP journalist reported, after a curfew had been announced over loudspeakers the day before.

Military operations are focused on the old city, a densely populated area bordering a large downtown square where young men and boys gathered to burn tires and throw stones at armored vehicles.

The Israeli army said that one soldier was "moderately injured" and three others "lightly injured" when two Palestinians attempted to steal a soldier's weapon.

Troops opened fire and "eliminated" both Palestinians, the army said in a statement, using a term the military often uses when killing gunmen.

AFPTV footage showed Israeli soldiers standing in one of the old city's narrow streets, next to the bodies of two civilians.

Neither Palestinian medics nor the Israeli army confirmed the two deaths.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Tuesday that three people were injured from bullet shrapnel, four from "physical assaults", and dozens more from tear gas inhalation.

It added that many injuries had to be handled within the old city after its ambulances were blocked from entering.

Nablus is located in the northern West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967.

The territory's north has been the target of a major Israeli military operation dubbed "Iron Wall" since January 21.

On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers entered shops to search them and arrested several people for questioning, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene.

The correspondent added that Israeli flags were raised over the roofs of buildings in the Old City that had been turned into temporary bases for Israeli troops.

Violence has surged in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, triggered by the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian movement Hamas on Israel.

At least 938 Palestinians, including fighters but also many civilians, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers or settlers, according to data from the Palestinian Authority.

During the same period, least 35 Israelis, both civilians and soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military raids, according to official Israeli figures.