Turkish Tanks Cross the Border Into Syria

The Turkish military sent a dozen tanks across the border into Syria in an operation targeting both so-called Islamic State militants and Kurdish forces, BBC News reported.

Jarablus, an ISIS-held town located on the western bank of the Euphrates River near the Turkish border, was targeted by artillery and rocket strikes according to Turkish media. U.S. warplanes participated in the operation as well, according to Reuters.

On the Turkish side of the border, the town of Karkamis was evacuated, following an ISIS mortar attack on the town.

“The Turkish Armed Forces and the International Coalition Air Forces have launched a military operation aimed at clearing the district of Jarablus of the province of Aleppo from the terrorist organization Daesh [ISIS],” said a statement from the Turkish prime minister’s office, vowing to “completely cleanse” Turkey’s borders from the militants.

Earlier this week, Turkey targeted Kurdish YPG forces in Syria, a key ally of the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS. However, Turkey fears Kurdish advances in Syria may inspire Turkey’s own Kurdish insurgents, who have been fighting for autonomy since the 1980s.

Cease-Fire Announced in Hasaka, Syrian Kurds Defeat Government Forces

A cease-fire in Hasaka on Tuesday ended the most violent confrontation between Kurdish and government forces in more than five years of war, Reuters reported.

Kurdish YPG forces have taken control of all of Hasaka (Hassakeh) city, aside from a few government-controlled buildings in what is known as the security quarter.

The Syrian army and allied militias must withdraw from the city according to the terms of the cease-fire, and the YPG would give control of the areas they captured to the Asayish, a Kurdish police force.

Syrian state television said the truce deal includes a prisoner swap, the return of wounded people and dead bodies, and Syrian army positions having access to roads in and out of the city.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights’ director, Rami Abdulrahman, any remaining government positions will only be symbolic.

“It is a big defeat for the regime in Hasaka,” Abdulrahman said.

Syrian Kurds have established an autonomous region in northern Syria known as Rojava, with the YPG controlling a continued stretch of land for 250 miles (400km) on the Syrian-Turkish border, as well as other territories in northwestern Syria. The Turkish military targeted YPG positions in Syria earlier this week, in an aim to disrupt a solidified Kurdish grip on territories along the Turkish border.

U.S. Hopeful About Discussions With Russia This Week

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, spoke on the phone today, arranging a meeting to discuss Syria on Friday, Reuters reported.

The two will meet in Geneva to discuss Syria; both countries are involved in the war against ISIS militants, but otherwise back opposite sides. Russian airstrikes routinely target Syrian rebel groups, some of whom are U.S.-backed.

The two countries previously brokered a nationwide cease-fire in Syria in February this year, but it fell apart in April. Attempts to renew the cease-fire have so far been unsuccessful, but Kerry told reporters on Monday that a new agreement may be reached by September, AFP reported.

“I wouldn’t express optimism – I would express hope,” Kerry said.

Recommended Reads:

• Carnegie: Bombers Over Hasakah: Assad Clashes With the Kurds
• Al-Monitor: Do Ankara, Damascus Perceive Common Kurdish Threat?
• The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Eyes Aiding Turkish-Backed Rebels Against Islamic State in Syria
• The Christian Science Monitor: One Year On, Russia’s War in Syria is Hardly the Predicted ‘Quagmire’
• Radio Free Europe: The Ultimate Dilemma in Syria’s Status Quo