This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/24/syrian-rebels-reclaim-key-border-town-jarablus-from-islamic-state
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Syrian rebels reclaim key border town from Islamic State | Syrian rebels reclaim key border town from Islamic State |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Syrian rebels backed by Turkish ground forces and US fighter jets have reclaimed the town of Jarablus, Islamic State’s last major conquest on Turkey’s 500-mile southern border with Syria. | Syrian rebels backed by Turkish ground forces and US fighter jets have reclaimed the town of Jarablus, Islamic State’s last major conquest on Turkey’s 500-mile southern border with Syria. |
| The victory came just hours after Ankara announced the launch of a major military campaign in Syria, the “Euphrates Shield”, and sent its tanks across the border in an operation with a dual aim – to eliminate the Isis presence along its border and to check the ambitions of US-backed Kurdish paramilitaries seeking an autonomous zone in northern Syria that Turkey sees as a threat to its national security. | The victory came just hours after Ankara announced the launch of a major military campaign in Syria, the “Euphrates Shield”, and sent its tanks across the border in an operation with a dual aim – to eliminate the Isis presence along its border and to check the ambitions of US-backed Kurdish paramilitaries seeking an autonomous zone in northern Syria that Turkey sees as a threat to its national security. |
| The US military supplied intelligence and air cover for the operation, which began just hours before the US vice-president, Joe Biden, arrived in Turkey. | The US military supplied intelligence and air cover for the operation, which began just hours before the US vice-president, Joe Biden, arrived in Turkey. |
| Turkey’s direct involvement in the conflict will add yet another layer of complexity to the web of alliances that has drawn the region’s major powers into a civil war now in its sixth year. | Turkey’s direct involvement in the conflict will add yet another layer of complexity to the web of alliances that has drawn the region’s major powers into a civil war now in its sixth year. |
| Russia, which supports President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, expressed deep concern at Turkey’s incursion, warning that it could risk civilian casualties and exacerbate ethnic tensions between Kurds and Arabs. Since September 2015, Russian warplanes have carried out thousands of airstrikes in support of government troops. | Russia, which supports President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, expressed deep concern at Turkey’s incursion, warning that it could risk civilian casualties and exacerbate ethnic tensions between Kurds and Arabs. Since September 2015, Russian warplanes have carried out thousands of airstrikes in support of government troops. |
| The recapture of Jarablus is the first major military engagement on the ground in Syria for Turkey, which staunchly backs the rebellion against Assad, with the exception of a brief incursion in 2015 to move the tomb of Suleyman Shah, the grandfather of the Ottoman empire’s founder. | The recapture of Jarablus is the first major military engagement on the ground in Syria for Turkey, which staunchly backs the rebellion against Assad, with the exception of a brief incursion in 2015 to move the tomb of Suleyman Shah, the grandfather of the Ottoman empire’s founder. |
| Ankara also issued an ultimatum to the YPG, the Syrian Kurdish paramilitary backed by the United States which has retaken vast tracts of land in northern Syria from the terror group, ordering it to retreat east of the Euphrates river or face “necessary measures”. | |
| The Kurdish militia, which Turkey says is simply an affiliate of the PKK, an insurgent group at war with the Turkish government, has sought to expand a sphere of influence spanning much of northern Syria from the eastern province of Hassakeh all the way to northern Aleppo. | The Kurdish militia, which Turkey says is simply an affiliate of the PKK, an insurgent group at war with the Turkish government, has sought to expand a sphere of influence spanning much of northern Syria from the eastern province of Hassakeh all the way to northern Aleppo. |
| In a blow to Kurdish aspirations for an autonomous zone, Biden said Kurdish militias must comply with Turkey’s demands or risk losing crucial American support. | In a blow to Kurdish aspirations for an autonomous zone, Biden said Kurdish militias must comply with Turkey’s demands or risk losing crucial American support. |
| Speaking at a press conference in Ankara on Wednesday, Biden said Kurdish forces “must move back across the Euphrates river”. “They cannot, will not, under any circumstance get American support if they do not keep that commitment,” he said. | Speaking at a press conference in Ankara on Wednesday, Biden said Kurdish forces “must move back across the Euphrates river”. “They cannot, will not, under any circumstance get American support if they do not keep that commitment,” he said. |
| Turkey said on Wednesday that its tanks had crossed the Syrian border in an operation meant to “cleanse” Isis militants from Jarablus. The campaign began with a salvo of airstrikes and artillery bombardment on Isis positions, softening them up for a coordinated advance by Syrian rebels acting in concert with Ankara. | Turkey said on Wednesday that its tanks had crossed the Syrian border in an operation meant to “cleanse” Isis militants from Jarablus. The campaign began with a salvo of airstrikes and artillery bombardment on Isis positions, softening them up for a coordinated advance by Syrian rebels acting in concert with Ankara. |
| “At 4am this morning, operations started in the north of Syria against terror groups which constantly threaten our country,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a speech in the capital, adding that the operation would target both Isis and Kurdish militants. | “At 4am this morning, operations started in the north of Syria against terror groups which constantly threaten our country,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a speech in the capital, adding that the operation would target both Isis and Kurdish militants. |
| “Our army has launched an operation this morning against terrorist organizations in the north of Syria that threaten our country,” the foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, said. “Clearing Daesh [Isis] from Jarablus will be a turning point.” | “Our army has launched an operation this morning against terrorist organizations in the north of Syria that threaten our country,” the foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, said. “Clearing Daesh [Isis] from Jarablus will be a turning point.” |
| “Turkey aims to drain the swamp rather than kill mosquitoes and eliminate threats it faces,” he added. | “Turkey aims to drain the swamp rather than kill mosquitoes and eliminate threats it faces,” he added. |
| Syrian rebels said they had entered Jarablus on Wednesday after taking over villages on the outskirts, and appeared to have reached the town centre by the late afternoon. At 4pm GMT they said they had completely secured the town, which had long been a hub for foreign fighters travelling into Syria and a gateway for illicit trade that boosted the militants’ coffers. | Syrian rebels said they had entered Jarablus on Wednesday after taking over villages on the outskirts, and appeared to have reached the town centre by the late afternoon. At 4pm GMT they said they had completely secured the town, which had long been a hub for foreign fighters travelling into Syria and a gateway for illicit trade that boosted the militants’ coffers. |
| The government in Ankara said the operation was an act of self-defence, in response to Isis shelling of Turkish border towns and suicide bombings and attacks targeting Turkish nationals. A bombing of a wedding in Gaziantep over the weekend killed more than 50 people, many of them children, and Isis-linked militants have carried out attacks in Ankara and Istanbul, including one at Atatürk airport. | The government in Ankara said the operation was an act of self-defence, in response to Isis shelling of Turkish border towns and suicide bombings and attacks targeting Turkish nationals. A bombing of a wedding in Gaziantep over the weekend killed more than 50 people, many of them children, and Isis-linked militants have carried out attacks in Ankara and Istanbul, including one at Atatürk airport. |
| It also billed it as an operation that would stem the flow of foreign fighters, who make up a significant contingent of Isis’s militants, and the flight of refugees from Syria amid worsening fighting. | It also billed it as an operation that would stem the flow of foreign fighters, who make up a significant contingent of Isis’s militants, and the flight of refugees from Syria amid worsening fighting. |
| The Turkish interior minister, Efkan Ala, said the response was Turkey’s “most legitimate right” and that his country could not be a “mere spectator” amid the intensifying threat by terrorist groups in Syria. | The Turkish interior minister, Efkan Ala, said the response was Turkey’s “most legitimate right” and that his country could not be a “mere spectator” amid the intensifying threat by terrorist groups in Syria. |
| The airstrikes were the first by Turkey, a Nato member, in Syria since its fighter jets last November shot down a Russian warplane that had strayed into Turkish airspace, leading to a collapse in relations with Moscow that lasted until a rapprochement in July. Last week, the Turkish prime minister, Binali Yıldırım, said his country would take a more “active” role in the war in Syria, which has driven more than 2 million refugees into Turkey. | |
| Biden’s endorsement of the campaign, which is backed by the US-led coalition against Isis, comes amid strains in relations between the two allies since an attempted coup last month that aimed to overthrow Erdoğan, who accuses a US-based cleric, Fethullah Gülen, of masterminding the plot and is seeking his extradition. | Biden’s endorsement of the campaign, which is backed by the US-led coalition against Isis, comes amid strains in relations between the two allies since an attempted coup last month that aimed to overthrow Erdoğan, who accuses a US-based cleric, Fethullah Gülen, of masterminding the plot and is seeking his extradition. |
| Taking control of Jarablus will limit the westward expansion of the Kurdish autonomous zone, which Ankara also says poses a threat to Syria’s territorial integrity. | Taking control of Jarablus will limit the westward expansion of the Kurdish autonomous zone, which Ankara also says poses a threat to Syria’s territorial integrity. |
| Turkey’s latest campaign is a development that underscores the complexity and the stakes involved in Syria’s war, which has laid much of the country to waste and forced a reshifting of longstanding alliances. While defeating Isis has long been the paramount American obsession in Syria, Turkey sees the departure of Assad as a necessary condition for peace talks, and rejects the idea of a Kurdish statelet on its borders. | Turkey’s latest campaign is a development that underscores the complexity and the stakes involved in Syria’s war, which has laid much of the country to waste and forced a reshifting of longstanding alliances. While defeating Isis has long been the paramount American obsession in Syria, Turkey sees the departure of Assad as a necessary condition for peace talks, and rejects the idea of a Kurdish statelet on its borders. |