2,000 members of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have reportedly reinforced the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YGP) fighting the Turkish Army and the Free Syrian Army in the area of Afrin.
The YPG is a core of the US-backed group. So, in a major part of cases, the SDF is just used as a PR brand to cover the US support to the YPG in eastern Syria.
According to reprots in the Russian media, the SDF column consisting of 2,000 fighters, moved from the city of Manbij through the government-held area towards Afrin on March 11.
There were also reports about the second column consisting of US-linked private military contractors branded as “the SDF”, which were also willing to “help” Afrin. However, the Syrian Army did not allow this very column to reach the YPG-held area.
The YPG has repeatedly rejected Damascus proposals to reach a wide-scale reconciliation agreement, which would return Afrin under the formal government control and to integrate local YPG members into Syrian security. However, all proposals have been rejected by the YPG. This has put the group into a very complicated situation because it cannot stop the Turkish advance itself. MORE DETAILS
THE WAY THEY MAKE THEIR BED, THEY HAVE TO SLEEP NOW.
Yep, stupid is what stupid does…..and when they refused the agreement, they shall reap what they have sown…..ie their own grave.
exactly what I been thinking. Cheers
Seems Assad assigning TAF to do a job for him. (He’ll have to kick 2k less of SDF off of Syria).
i like this hidden Erdogan-Assad alliance, YPG/SDF is gonna cry bad when USA will leave their asses to TAF/SAA after some time
Sure for now it is good. But when SDF is gone and Erdogan has like 90% of northern syria, the US just says they now support their NATO-allie Erdogan. So Assad only wins like few cities but has a much stronger enemy in the north. On long therm all Assad can do is loosing and giving Russia and Iran military playground. May the USA will not be the winners, but Assad won’t be one aswell.
It is important to understand that long before the Syrian war, for decades, Turkey forced an agreement on Syria for a 35km Turkish intrusion zone, whenever Turkey deemed it necessary, to chase PKK Kurdish forces. This goes back to Turkish-PKK civil war of 1980’s, and as Syria is the smaller country to Turkey, it was de facto bullied into the agreement. There is a far more complicated history with this border than your comments suggests. Turkey does not want to annex the Syrian Afrin province full of Kurds – they want to subdue them once and for all with violence.
I was not aware of that. Thank you Bob.
What is happening up to now is a prearranged game between the turks and russians and allies. The moment all the armed forces they have in syria can not have air cover it is a matter of days to eliminate them and have them running to turkish borders. And the game has not yet played, for the moment all rivals are positioning themselves, for the real moment in history.
Your conclusions are naive.
they say everything was not personal acting cool but the reality is if someone’s trying to kill me to take power by force i bet this is very very personal.
the US failed to get rid of erdogan. erdogan was abanded by nato allies and also gulf alliies. the only countries which stood with erdogan were surprisingly iran and russia. this is very personal. no matter what erdogan knows nato and gulf can’t be trusted no matter what. that’s why no matter what he is insisting to get
the S-400.
i won’t say erdoogan would 100% cooperate with the common ground of syria russia and iranian alliance but at least they are acting for their own interests and not the US or israel.
And when Turkey attacks Manbij, SAA and allies will take Raqqa!
Well, everything would be fine, but the FSA is stronger and Erdogan is against Assad…
I no longer think so, Erdy is after the PKK and other Kurdish groups only, even though there has been a few skirmishes. I hope I am right or once.
this ”against Assad” behaviour should change soon otherwise RF will not support TAF anymore and US will establish the Zio-Kurdistan.
Sign-up or Fuck-off.
Ridiculous waste of manpower and material – 2000 more Kurds dead. Why not hand-off Afrin to Assad? Have the Americans vetoed that option? I don’t understand the logic – can anybody explain.
traitors and cousins of the turks. No explanation needed, for whores, they change their price according to the size. isn’t it obvious what they are?
‘Logic’ and anyone connected with American hegemony do not go hand in hand for very long. :)
Hello Trudgian. Here is my take on it.
The Americans, of which I am one, never really had power over there. The American power base lies west on a 14 hour flight. Along with the GCC and pals, except for Jordan and Israel ( which as other Occidentals is highly casualty averse ), nobody actually lives in the theater of combat; Syria proper. Money, promises, ect. are only as good as the commitment itself. The commitment was never solid.
With the Russians entering the fray, proof of their commitment was required. They have shown that theirs is real and very sane. This brings us to March 1, one of the most epic, most important moments in post WWII world history. Russian President Putin announced to the United States, in a parlance the military and politicos understand, that they have the technological strength and honed determination, to wipe the floor with our faces, anytime, anywhere on the planet but, would really not want to go that way.
So, as for a real American veto, it does no exist. The Occidental game was only good within certain parameters. That game is no longer operating in that sandbox. As well as having far from the superior capabilities that have been fantasized with in public for decades, the very web of alliances and geopolitical gimmicks they have relied upon, is now strangling any possibility of effectiveness. If you think I am being wordy about this, you can take it to the bank that I am fleshing the realities out in an extreme short version. My take on it. I wish you well John.
Putin made a reference in his speech at the RS36 Vojevoda ICBM.
Wonder how many in the crowd and the public in general got what he meant.
Hello John. Not many paid attention. A mountain has passed above our heads. History finished turning the page on an era of almost 80 years. As usual, humanity as a whole is blind to it. A good day to you Whitehot.
The game changer is Hypersonic weapons produced in Russia with a military budget of 50 billion shows not all contractors are out to rip off taxpayers.
Hello Terra Cotta. It was a slap in the face with a fresh tuna. A good one to you.
Hello Terra Cotta. It was a slap in the face with a fresh tuna. A good one to you.
That day March 1st has a new name just like April first is Fools day, It’s called “Wake up Fools day!!”
Well the decision relies on Brett McGurk and company as they really do get mad at any inference of working with the Legitimate Syrian Government , just happens when US local regimes over extend their authority.
So a column of Americans was turned away? That is a PR mistake as now they can say they tried to help but Assad wouldn’t let them.
let them say. Who is listening to them but their own self?
Not really as it would have given the US military an excuse to get involved in Afrin ‘ to protect ‘Mercenary Americrunt Heroes’.
The sort that murdered civilians in Iraq.
“That is a PR mistake as now they can say they tried to help but Assad wouldn’t let them”
again with this PR mistake bullshit propaganda.
wonder what you would say if instead they let them pass.
you may well say, “if 2+2=4, then Assad is wrong”. But also “if 2+2 !=4 Assad is wrong anyway”.
All that is occurring is giving new meaning to the operational name. I am more inclined as the days go by, to think that ‘Olive Branch’ may be just that. From the angle that counts the most, it is working like a blessed charm. I wish well to all.
This is a one way ticket for these SDF-YPG-Kurds. There was also a lot more of them that went to Afrin last month too. Syria would be stupid to let them return to Eastern Syria. If they want to get back home, assuming they are still alive, the SDF must hand over Raqqah and the al-Tabah dam and hydro electric power plant as well as the Conoco gas plant and surrounding oil fields.
its is a one way ticket…they are doomed….how can they hold a city that its defence lines have collapsed?what can they do against artillery, air bombardments etc?
Trying to hold onto Afrin seems like a strategic blunder. You have to know when to let go. Hitler wasted so many troops fighting for pockets of land when it was clear that they could not hold the land. This is what is happening in Afrin. Even with 2,000 fresh troops, you are not going to push Turkey out of the region. You will halt them at best. So, give up Afrin and prepare defenses around Manbij.
I really dont understand why leaders cannot comprehend losing. Everyone loses. Every nation has lost at least once. Losing is a part of war. Tip your cap to the other guy and pull out to fight another day. Dont waste your numbers fighting for a lost region.
You don’t understand. Even Kurds aren’t completely united and in constant rivalry against each other. YPG or SDF whatever have judged that they’ll concede Afrin to Turkey FSA in condition it shouldn’t fall into SAA hands under US orders. The problem is Afrin Kurds then would lost it’s administrative power and went back into a regular grunts.
They are fighting for a lost cause….Afrin is dead,,,,if the FSA manage to divide the region into 2 seperate section the north-west one will be a bloodbath. they have nowhere to run. no reason there to create heros….diplomacy should have prevailed…hand over the territory to Syrian forces…let them deal with Turkey…i bet Turkey would be allright with that. Kurds are Turkeys main problem….keep them out of sight and problem solved.
The problem is that you have to stop them somewhere, so it might as well be at your strongest point. Large cities are notoriously difficult to capture if the defenders are well-prepared, so it makes sense.
In WWII the Germans and Japanese plan was to make the enemy pay heavily for every city they take, in the hopes the enemy will eventually sue for peace. Admittedly this is probably unlikely in this particular case, as Erdogan has plenty of expendable FSA cannon-fodder to throw at them.
However I doubt the Kurds will launch a third invasion to take Manbij, since US forces are embedded among them it would be too politically dangerous. Whereas the Afrin Kurds only got attacked because they had no foreign-powers protecting them.
I wish they let all the YPG army to enter to Afrin area, but let none to get out. Good cannon fodder for Turkish airplanes and tanks in area with very little population, so less civilian casualties.
“SYRIAN GOVERNMENT ALLOWED 2,000 SDF MEMBERS TO REINFORCE KURDISH FORCES IN AFRIN” ????????????????????????????????????
This makes no sense! The Syrian govt has no authority anymore!
They have all the authority and US has none the US can’t sell the oil or they could be charged for looting the country which has severe consequences as an illegal occupier.
They should have just handed Afrin over to the SAA, then Turkey would have been denied a pretext to invade. Hopefully these reinforcements can stop the Turkish-backed terrorists, but I doubt it at this stage.
“and to integrate local YPG members into Syrian security”
Wow, that’s one of the dumbest thing and regrettable after the outcome if it did happen. Why would you do such thing with people who got a connection with Israel and/or U.S.
Good plan so,. SDF in Eastern Syria has been halved? hehehe Can they actually hold off the Turks?
If you believe Russia/Iran are playing 3 dimensional chess by ‘allowing’ Turkey to do their dirty work in northern Syria by invading to take out the US backed Kurds… this would make no sense.