Turkey Allows al-Qaeda to Move Over Border into Syria

[Demhat]

Clashes Between Syrian Kurds, Rebels Worry Turkey

ISTANBUL — Clashes between Syrian Kurdish forces and Syrian rebels have been on the rise the past few weeks. Concentrating control in their own areas of northwestern Syria, Kurdish leaders have been slow to join the broader rebellion against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, prefering to seek greater regional autonomy. This is a big concern for neighboring Turkey.

When Syrian rebels seized the border post at Ras al-Ain on November 8, they celebrated the victory and went on to "liberate" the town, a place where both Arabs and Kurds live on Syria's northeastern border with Turkey.

But the Kurdish inhabitants quickly saw the perils of the move. Within days, dozens of people were dead in clashes between Kurdish militias and the rebels.

Ankara is worried about the clashes in the region, fearing that Syria's Kurdish Party, the PYD, is supporting Kurdish insurgents in Turkey, known as the PKK, with encouragement from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Diplomatic correspondent Semih Idiz of the Hurriyet daily said, "If there is an overt PKK connection with the PYD, and there is a Turkey-friendly outfit that seems to be combating this, I can see how there are people in Turkey who might see this as being to Turkey's advantage. But I don't know that there is a direct Turkish involvement in this."

The PKK has been fighting for greater autonomy against Turkish security forces since the 1980s. The Syrian crisis has reopened the question of regional Kurdish autonomy, rekindling hope among some Kurds that their 30-million-strong flock - divided between Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran - could emerge with their own state.

Ankara fears an autonomous Syrian Kurdish region on its border would further strengthen the PKK insurgency.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier this month warned that Turkey would never allow it.

International relations analyst Cengiz Aktar of Bahcesehir University said Ankara's increasingly tough language convinces him that Turkey could be involved in fueling the clashes.

"According to reports, the clashes are not between the Syrian opposition and the Kurds but between the Kurds and al-Qaida-like militia directly and indirectly supported by the Turkish authorities. If that is true, it means Turkey is implementing its policy towards the Kurdish-populated areas of Syria where, as the prime minister has indicated, it won't tolerate any sort of autonomy," Aktar said.

Gultan Kisanak is the leader of Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party, the Peace and Democracy Party. She also accuses Turkish security forces of being behind the clashes. Similar claims were made in a press release Tuesday by the Kurdistan National Congress, a coalition of Kurdish groups across Europe.

But Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal dismissed the notion. He said, "We don't have any kind of place in such an internal clash. It's not in the interest of anybody to continue clashes while [they] are fighting an oppressive regime," he said.

According to Turkish media reports, the leader of the Iraqi Kurdish regional government, Masoud Barzani, is seeking to mediate between the Syrian Kurds and the Syrian opposition.

In recent years, Ankara has developed good economic and political relations with the neighboring Iraqi Kurds after a decade of mistrust.

International relations analyst Aktar said Turkey needs to develop similar relations with Syrian Kurds, but may need help.

"When a semi-autonomous region appeared in the north of Iraq, Turkey did not like it. But it was convinced by the Americans," said Aktar. "So Turkey needs again the good office of the U.S. to create the same type of working relationship with the Syrian Kurds."

Aktar warned the alternative will be increasing tensions between Ankara and Syrian Kurds. He said that would result in further clashes and confrontations.


http://www.voanews.com/content/clash...y/1554155.html

The Al Nusra group is considered by the US as a terror organization. The recent clash between Kurdish forces and Al Nusra happened after they crossed from Turkish border into the Kurdish areas of Syria. witnesses confirm that they crossed the border with heavy weapons and tanks provided by Turkey, to attack the Kurdish ruled Northern parts of Syria.

[Demhat]

footage from the clashes between Al Nusrah(FSA) entering from Turkey and Kurdish fighters in Sere Kaniye(Ras Al Ayn).

The vast majority of these Al Nusra terrorists are not even Syrians but from Libya, Chechens, Iraq and Pakistan.


[YOUTUBE]MMKI6AtxN_o[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]LvTlJEwnu8c[/YOUTUBE]

Al Nusra terrorists killed by Kurdish forces.
[YOUTUBE]z1LayXEMtOI[/YOUTUBE]

[American_Hispanist]

Turks wanting to start shit in Syria, lol. yet again, Israel "supports" the PKK. so, we don't wtf is going on in the ME. all we know is that lots of people want to kill each other.

[Partizan]

Let's hope our government does the right think for crushing Kurdish separatism and being infliuental on Syria. Islamist or not, I prefer an infliuental Turkey in ME.

[American_Hispanist]

Let's hope our government does the right think for crushing Kurdish separatism and being infliuental on Syria. Islamist or not, I prefer an infliuental Turkey in ME.

I want more Turkish influence in the ME as well. Turkish influence can act as a factor to bring peace in the ME.

[Demhat]

Turks wanting to start shit in Syria, lol. yet again, Israel "supports" the PKK. so, we don't wtf is going on in the ME. all we know is that lots of people want to kill each other.

The thing is the PKK is only considered by the US as "terrorists" since several years because of pressure, by a Nato partner, but FSA groups like Al Nusra are clearly terrorist organs connected to Al Qaida and Hamas are clearly controlled by Iranian terror state (not to confuse with Fatah) and both are supported by Turkey, especially Al Nusra even after they were put on terrorist list by US.

In fact supporting the Al Qaida against Kurds is not a new game of Turkey, as Wiki Leaks revealed.

WikiLeaks: Turkey Helped al-Qaeda, US Supported PKK?

(AP, A.W.)—Documents expected to be leaked this month allege that Turkey allowed citizens to smuggle weapons into Iraq, and that the U.S. helped Kurdish fighters. WikiLeaks is planning to release files that show Turkey has helped al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to the London-based daily Al-Hayat. The newspaper also reported that the U.S. helped the PKK, a Kurdish rebel organization.

One of the documents, a U.S. military report, reportedly charges Turkey with failing to control its borders because Iraqi citizens residing in Turkey provided al-Qaeda with supplies to build bombs, guns, and ammunition.

A WikiLeaks administrator also told Al-Hayat that the site needs Turks to volunteer to translate documents about Turkey’s role in the war in Iraq and its bid for EU membership.

Other documents show that the U.S. has supported the PKK, which has been waging a separatist war against Turkey since 1984 and has been classified by the State Department as a terrorist organization since 1979. The U.S. military documents call the PKK “warriors for freedom and Turkish citizens,” and say that the U.S. set free arrested PKK members in Iraq. The documents also point out that U.S. forces in Iraq have given weapons to the PKK and ignored the organization’s operations inside Turkey.

On Nov. 24, the Obama Administration said it had alerted Congress and begun notifying foreign governments that WikiLeaks is preparing to release sensitive U.S. diplomatic files that could damage its relations with friends and allies across the globe.

Officials said the documents may contain everything from accounts of compromising conversations with political dissidents and friendly politicians to disclosures of activities that could result in the expulsion of U.S. diplomats from foreign postings.

U.S. diplomatic outposts around the world have begun notifying other governments that WikiLeaks may release these documents in the next few days.

“These revelations are harmful to the United States and our interests,” State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said. “They are going to create tension in relationships between our diplomats and our friends around the world.”

Crowley said the release of confidential communications about foreign governments will likely erode trust in the United States as a diplomatic partner and could cause embarrassment if the files include derogatory or critical comments about friendly foreign leaders.

“When this confidence is betrayed and ends up on the front pages of newspapers or lead stories on television or radio, it has an impact,” Crowley said.

A Pentagon spokesman, Marine Col. David Lapan, said the Pentagon has also notified Congressional committees of an expected WikiLeaks release. He said the files are believed to be State Department documents, but they could contain information about military tactics or reveal the identities of sources.

A statement on the WikiLeaks Twitter site on Nov. 24 said “the Pentagon is hyperventilating again over fears of being held to account.” Seven times as many secret documents as the 400,000 Iraq war logs WikiLeaks published in October are rumored to be released in December (for information on the Iraq war logs, see video).

In 2009, WikiLeaks won the Amnesty International human rights reporting award (New Media).

[YOUTUBE]z1pTl8KdREk[/YOUTUBE]

[Demhat]

Let's hope our government does the right think for crushing Kurdish separatism and being infliuental on Syria. Islamist or not, I prefer an infliuental Turkey in ME.

won't happen, the US will not let terrorist groups rule another state of the Middle East and the terrorists tried it several times but failed. The US has already plans to divide Syria. All this does is show Turkey in a worse light as they already are. And its not even of Turkeys business since its outside Turkeys borders.

[Anglojew]

I hope the Kurds defeat them and gain independence and unity.

Long Live Kurdistan.

[RussiaPrussia]

Let's hope our government does the right think for crushing Kurdish separatism and being infliuental on Syria. Islamist or not, I prefer an infliuental Turkey in ME.

more influence? There is iran too which has the same amount of people as turkey, 30 million iraqis and 20 million syrian people in the region. More influence in the most dangerous war mongering zone??

[Demhat]

I hope the Kurds defeat them and gain independence and unity.

Long Live Kurdistan.

Thanks my friend, as I said, Russia won't let Turkey directly intefere and the US do not want another country ruled by extremists and if they would keep going to support Turkeys agenda in Syria this will ultimately shift the Kurdish direction from being neutral, to being pro Russia. Since Russia has invited Syrian Kurdish delegation several times while Turkey always excludes the Syrian Kurds in their opposition meetings. They do not accept the Kurds among the opposition. So US should not be surprised if they see the Kurds siding with Russia and maybe even Assad, whom they actually dislike. This would all be the effect of Turkish hatred and ignorance towards the Kurds.

These FSA-Al Nusra terrorists backed by Turkey won't success, they tried it several times and were beaten out. Its just annoying and it might get dangerous if Turkey keeps supporting them with heavier weapons because they usually take civilians as hostages.