Turkey Condemns U.S. for Kurdish Arms Deal

Turkey has accused the U.S. of siding with “terrorists” following President Donald Trump’s decision to send arms to Kurdish forces fighting the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) in northern Syria, reports Reuters.

Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan issued the scathing rebuke to Turkey’s NATO allies on Wednesday, only days before he is due to visit the White House for his first official visit with Trump.

“We want to believe that our allies will prefer to side with us, not with a terrorist organization,” said Erdogan, speaking to reporters at a news conference in Ankara.

Turkish prime minister Binali Yildirim, too, criticized the U.S. administration’s decision this week to send military hardware to the Syrian-Kurdish YPG, which Turkey views as as extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), saying the move “will surely have consequences and will yield a negative result for the U.S. as well.”

Erdogan added that he hoped that the decision to send arms to the YPG would be rolled back by the time of his visit to Washington next week.

Cleanup Begins Following SDF Seizure of Tabqa Dam

U.S.-backed coalition forces began the task of clearing mines from Tabqa dam and the surrounding town on Thursday, following their capture of the entire area the previous day, reports AP.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been battling with ISIS for control of Tabqa for over a month, with a view to using the strategically important northern Syrian town as a springboard for an assault on Raqqa, ISIS’s de facto capital, in the coming weeks.

The SDF’s territorial victory was confirmed by the Ghadab al-Fura group, a Kurdish militia fighting under the umbrella of the SDF. “Our forces have seized control of both the dam and the city of Tabqa,” Jihan Sheikh, of Ghadab al-Fura, told Al Jazeera.

Capturing the dam, the largest in Syria, is a major achievement in itself, given that concerns about its integrity – and the “catastrophic” consequences of any significant damage to it – led to a halt in hostilities last month.

Austrian Court Jails Syrian Man for War Crimes

A Syrian man who sought asylum in Austria has been jailed for life for war crimes, reports the Guardian.

A jury in Innsbruck found the 27-year-old guilty of “murder as a terrorism offense” in relation to the killing of 20 wounded government soldiers in his home country.

The man, who was arrested at a refugee shelter in Tyrol last June after being reported by a fellow asylum seeker, had originally admitted to belonging to a rebel unit and shooting unarmed or injured government troops in Homs in 2013 and 2014.

The man, who was not named but is believed to be of Palestinian origin, then recanted his confession, but a translator rejected that in court, saying, “The defendant told me he had shot badly wounded soldiers. I asked him to repeat his claim and he did.”

It is thought to be the first time that a war crime case involving Syria has been brought before an Austrian court.

Recommended Reads:

• The Guardian: Doctors in Syria Turn to Crowdfunding to Maintain Underground Hospitals
• Al Arabiya: U.N. – Syria Fighting Has Decreased but Aid Remains Stalled
• Al Jazeera: Is Jordan Preparing a Ground Intervention in Syria?
• The Independent: Can Syria Ever Be Repaired When its Long Civil War Finally Comes to an End?