VIDEO: Kurds Cleanse 2 Settlements from Turkey-Backed Groups

Expert Karen Hovhannisyan wrote on his Facebook page: “Currently, military operations are underway near the settlement of Sari Kaniya. The Turkish army, accompanied by armed groups, is attempting to enter the city. Women’s self-defense units (YPJ) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are trying to resist.

The Syrian quagmire is much more tangled and profound than one can imagine. According to an agreement between Damascus and the SDF, Syrian government forces will not enter Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain) and Gir Spî (Tal Abyad), where fierce battles are currently taking place between Turkish forces and the groups they support against the Kurds.

Based on the agreement between the Kurds and Damascus, the Syrian army should raise the Syrian flag from Derik (Al-Malikiyah) to Sari Kaniya, and from Gir Spî, where there are currently no clashes, to Kobani and Manbij, meaning that until then these areas will be under the control of the Syrian state. However, Sari Kaniya and Gir Spî do not fall within these areas. According to the information I have, the Kurds have managed to completely clear these two settlements from the Turkey-backed groups that had controlled these areas for several days. However, official Ankara claims that these two settlements are under their control.

To understand why such an agreement was reached, I will address this in a more comprehensive way in a separate episode.”