Truce brings quiet, but not stability to Turkey-Syria border
GAZIANTEP, Turkey — The United States is praising the truce between forces supported by Turkey and Kurdish fighters. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Aug. 30, “The United States welcomes the overnight calm between the Turkish military and other counter-[Islamic State (IS)] forces in Syria.”
Despite the current truce, the border between Turkey and northern Syria is still riddled with unrest.
Author Kamal Sheikho Posted September 2, 2016
TranslatorSami-Joe Abboud
Shirvan Darwish, the media spokesman for the Manbij military council, which is allied with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and is one of the parties to the truce, told Al-Monitor, “The truce has been holding for three days, and no breach has been registered by either of the two sides.” He added, “We are committed to appeasement because we are part of the ground forces of the international coalition fighting the terrorist IS organization.”
In a striking development that may further complicate the Syrian crisis, Turkey supported its allies in the Syrian opposition Aug. 24 as they took control of the city of Jarablus, located on the border with Turkey. The operation involved the military council of the city of Jarablus, which is allied with the SDF, as Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions supported by Turkey clashed with the council. The FSA factions took control of lands and villages in the southern countryside of Jarablus after Turkish warplanes and artillery launched a violent attack to support factions allied with it in their military operations in Jarablus.
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http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/09/syria-turkey-border-jarablus-kurdish-fighters.html#ixzz4JEHqjxIr
