October 13, 2019-Turkey drove its military forces into northern Syria this week, driving out Kurdish forces and civilians and inciting international criticism.
Turkish President Recep Erdogan annouced the drive earlier in the week, saying he intends to create a buffer zone where he can resettle up to 3.6 million Syrian refugees now living in Turkey.
Since January, U.S. and Turkish leaders have discussed creating a “safe zone” in the region. For Kurds living and fighting in the area, the zone is anything but safe.
Turkish forces and their allies captured several villages over the weekend along the Syria’s Northern border, according to reports in Al Jazeera.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi warned that civilian lives are in danger amid the new fighting. “Hundreds of thousands of civilians in northern Syria are now in harm’s way. Civilians and civilian infrastructure must not be a target,” he said on Friday.
US Withdraw from Syria
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said that they are now fighting in Syria on two fronts: one against Daesh (also called the Islamic State), and one against Turkey.
The military drive came after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew about 50 U.S. forces from the border, saying the did not want to put the soldiers in harms way. “
“We want to bring our soldiers back home. These are the endless wars. And we’re not fighting; we’re policing, to a large extent,” Trump said on October 7.
On Sunday, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced plans to withdraw roughly all 1,000 U.S. troops stationed in northern Syria. “It’s a very terrible situation over there,” Esper told CBS Face the Nation. “We have American forces likely caught between two opposing advancing armies, and it’s a very untenable situation,” Esper said.
Civilians Displaced
Even before the Turkish incursion started on October 9, civilians in northern Syria were suffering widespread destruction, displacement and deplorable conditions. According to a report released September 11, 2019 by the UN Human Rights Council, the nine-year civil war displaced as many as 13 million Syrians.
The report mentioned “dire conditions” in the northern region near Afrin, where armed factions had carved up the province. “As a result there is a general absence of rule of law and repeated incidents of kidnappings, torture, extortion and assassination ,” the UNHCR said. “Victims were often of Kurdish origin as well as civilians perceived as being prosperous, including doctors, businessmen and merchants.”
Talks for a Political Solution
Meanwhile, the United Nations is primed to facilitate talks between the Syrian government and the Syrian Negotiations Commission . A new Constitutional Committee is set to meet in Geneva on or before October 30. UN Secretary General António Guterres said the committee represents all sides. A UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, is tasked with leading the talks.
As a prior Security Council resolution previously outlined, the goal is to provide for a political solution in Syria that respects that country’s sovereignty and independence while providing protections for civilians.
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