VLAD THE PEACEKEEPER
Fate of Syria’s Kurds now completely in Russia’s untrustworthy hands as Putin promises ‘not to allow’ Assad and Turkey to go to war
THE fate of Kurdish forces in northern Syria now rests in the untrustworthy hands of Vladimir Putin after the shock American withdrawal last week.
Russian forces yesterday swept in to fill the void left by departing US troops - with Putin vowing "not to allow" Assad and Turkey to go to war.
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Russia - a staunch ally of the Syrian regime - has now positioned itself as the power-broker in the region following seven days of fighting.
The move could see an end to the slaughter of Kurdish fighters by Turkey after the Kurds were effectively abandoned by the United States.
Desperate for a new protector, the Kurdish administration struck a deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - Putin's close ally.
But after Donald Trump's order to withdraw US troops, Moscow's hold on the entire region is now all but unchallenged.
WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR:
- Kurdish forces have struck a deal with Syrian dictator Assad in a bid to stop Turkey in northern Syria
- Donald Trump pulled the remaining 1,000 US troops out of the region while giving Ankara the greenlight to invade
- This pits Syria and its allies Russia and Iran against Turkey - prompting fears of a new Syrian civil war
- Russia have swept in to police the area and keep Turkey and Assad's forces apart
- It's feared 1000s of ISIS fighters being held in Kurdish-controlled camps in Syria could be freed in the mayhem
- The Kurds have formed a nervous alliance with Russian-backed Syrian forces after being 'abandoned' by the US
If we have to choose between compromises and the genocide of our people, we will surely choose life for our people
Mazloum Abdi
Even the Kurds feel uneasy about the unlikely alliance - which demonstrates how desperate the situation is for the US-loyal Kurdish forces.
Mazloum Abdi, of the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, said there would be "painful compromises" with Assad and Russia.
He added: "We do not trust their promises. To be honest, it is hard to know whom to trust.
"But if we have to choose between compromises and the genocide of our people, we will surely choose life for our people."
Another concern is that 12,000 ISIS fighters held in Kurdish-controlled prisons could be freed as a result of the chaos in the war-torn country.
US 'DEEPLY CONCEREND'
Kelly Craft, the US ambassador to the UN, admitted Washington is "deeply concerned" that Russian troops are patrolling between the two sides.
Turkey's offensive against Kurdish fighters - its longtime enemies in the Kurd's struggle for nationhood - has displaced tens of thousands.
It has also upended alliances and is re-drawing the map of northern Syria for yet another time in the 8-year-old war.
On Sunday, Assad's Russian-backed Syrian government forces swept into Kurdish-administered areas to shield them against Turkey.
Syrian troops waved flags after they rolled into the flashpoint town of Manbij- which that Turkey had been aiming to capture.
BLOODY BATTLE AHEAD?
Despite the Syrian and Russian deployments, Turkey insists it would capture Manbij - setting up the potential for a bloody battle to come.
Asked on Sky News if Turkey's military was willing to fight Assad's army, Vice President Fuat Oktay said, "We hope it's not going to happen.
"But again we are determined to get control over Manbij."
Mortar fire from Manbij killed two Turkish soldiers and wounded seven others on Tuesday, the Turkish Defense Ministry said.
Later, a battalion of around 200 Turkish troops along with armoured vehicles crossed near Manbij and Kobani.
Kobani, a border town, is not yet secured by Syrian forces - and could act as a stronghold from which Turkey plans to attack.
Farther east on the border, Turkish and Kurdish forces were in heavy battles over the town of Ras al-Ayn, captured by Turkey days earlier.
Who is fighting who?
- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is fighting the Turkish army in northern Syria
- Assad's Syrian army has struck a deal with the SDF to join the war against Turkey
- The Syrian dictator is backed by forces from Russia and Iran
- Ankara views the YPG - a Kurish milita group within the SDF - as a terrorist group because of its links to guerrillas waging an insurgency in southeast Turkey
- Previously, the SDF battled depraved terror group ISIS with the help of the US
- And at the height of the Syrian civil war, Assad's troops battled ISIS and Syrian rebel factions including the SDF
RUSSIA 'NOT GOING TO ALLOW' CLASHES
US troops had outposts in Manbij since 2017 - when they went in to avert a battle over the town between Turkish and Kurdish fighters.
Now Russia has taken on that role - with Moscow's troops patrolling front lines between Turkish and Syrian army positions.
Alexander Lavrentyev, Moscow's envoy for Syria, said on Tuesday that "no one is interested" in fighting between Syrian and Turkish forces.
He told Russian state news agencies that Moscow is "not going to allow it".
SCORES KILLED
In the first week of the Turkish assault, at least 154 fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have been killed.
There were another 128 fighters from Turkish-backed Syrian factions killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
It added at least 69 civilians have been killed in Syria.
Turkey claims six of its soldiers have died so far, as well as at least 20 Turkish civilians killed by Kurdish mortar fire across the border.
US TROOPS 'REPOSITIONED'
A US official said the approximately 1,000 US troops being withdrawn from northern Syria will reposition in Iraq, Kuwait and possibly Jordan.
The source added that US forces in Iraq could conduct cross-border operations against the Islamic State group in Syria as they did before.
That could help reaffirm the now-abandoned partnership with Syrian Kurdish-led forces, the anonymous US official said.
After opening the way for the Turkish assault with its pullout, Washington is now trying to restrain its fellow NATO member.
It comes after President Trump on Monday announced sanctions aimed at Turkey's economy.
The US called on Turkish president Recep Erdogan to stop the offensive and declare a cease-fire.
The UK and EU countries also moved to broaden an arms sale embargo against their easternmost ally.
And Trump was sending Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Ankara to try to begin negotiations.
They say 'declare a ceasefire.' We could never declare a ceasefire
Recep Erdogan
Pence said Trump spoke directly to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who promised not to attack the border town of Kobani.
In 2015, that town saw the Islamic State group's first defeat in a battle by the US-backed Kurdish fighters.
But defiant Erdogan made clear that he had no intention of halting the Turkish offensive.
He told reporters: "They say 'declare a ceasefire.' We could never declare a ceasefire."
And in a column in the Wall Street Journal, Erdogan defended Turkey's offensive.
He urged the international community to support Ankara's effort to create what it calls a resettlement "safe zone" for refugees.
And Erdogan said Turkey's warnings it would be unable to stop refugee floods into the West without international support "fell on deaf ears."
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