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Since 2012, the Week in Review keeps you ahead of the curve with in-depth analysis of the trends in the region, based on Al-Monitor’s world class reporting.

Is US bailing on Syrian Kurds?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ignores appeals for restraint in northern Syria, appears to have gotten Washington to end support for the YPG.
A fighter from Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) sits on a curb as he holds his weapon in Raqqa, Syria September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC17FB8BC0B0

Turkey upends US Syria strategy with attack on YPG

Ankara seeks green light from Moscow, not Washington, in attack on US partner; UN warns of consequences of continued fighting in Eastern Ghouta and Idlib; local council in Aleppo confiscates land of Islamic State families.
Turkish artillerys shell the People's Protection Units (YPG) positions near the Syrian border on January 21, 2018 near Hassa, in the Turkish province of Hatay, as Turk's ground troops entered Syria today to push an offensive against Kurdish militia as rocket fire hit a border town in apparent retaliation.
Turkey on January 20 launched operation "Olive Branch" seeking to oust from the Afrin region of northern Syria the YPG which Ankara considers a terror group.
 / AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC        (Photo credi

Is Turkey aligned with al-Qaeda affiliate in Idlib?

Russian-Turkish relations worsen as Syrian forces advance in Idlib; Al-Monitor leads media coverage of Iran’s financial crisis — by six months; the American University of Beirut dedicates "transformative" Halim and Aida Daniel Academic and Clinical Center.
Turkish army tanks and military personal are stationed in Karkamis on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern Gaziantep province, Turkey, August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - S1BETXLBLSAE