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11 Jan, 2019 13:36

Turkey to wage campaign against Syrian Kurdish militia ‘when time is right’ – minister

Turkey’s defense minister on Friday pledged to wage a campaign against a US-backed Syrian Kurdish militia. The comments from Hulusi Akar, on an unannounced visit to inspect troops stationed near the Syrian border directly opposite territory held by the US-backed Kurdish YPG, appeared to be aimed at both Washington and its Kurdish allies, Reuters said. Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency in Turkey’s largely Kurdish southeast. The Kurdish groups that control a vast swath of northern Syria have now turned to Damascus in the hope of striking a political deal that will stave off Turkey and shield their autonomy in the north.