Erdogan: 'Nothing will stop us' if Syrian Kurds do not leave Manbij
Turkish president intensifies warnings as US exits Syria; Islamic Jihad bends Hamas to its will; Amberin Zaman reports on Tunisia’s returning jihadis.
“If the terrorists in Manbij are not removed in the next few weeks, our waiting will end,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned last week. He added, “We will go our own way and nothing will stop us from implementing our plans, including a sanctions list,” Jasper Mortimer reports.
“Turkey reached an agreement with the United States for the withdrawal of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) from Manbij last year,” writes Mortimer. “But despite [US President Donald] Trump’s announcement in December that US forces would pull out of Syria, the town continues to be controlled by US troops and the allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) — of which the YPG is the largest component. … Similarly, Turkey says the Americans have not done enough toward setting up a safe zone along Syria’s northeast border with Turkey, a zone free of the YPG.”
