Thursday

28th Mar 2024

Turkey and Nato meet, plan IS-free zone

  • Turkish authorities have detained over 1,000 people suspected of being affiliated with outlawed groups (Photo: nato.int)

Turkey is asserting its military strength against the Islamic State (IS) and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) amid leaked plans to create a jihadist-free buffer zone in Syria.

On Tuesday (28 July), Turkey and its 27 Nato allies are holding emergency talks in Brussels to discuss Ankara’s recent forays against the Islamic militants in Syria and PKK positions in northern Iraq.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Senior US officials say Turkey and US forces have agreed to push out Islamic State fighters in a zone in northern Syria along the border with Turkey.

The Washington Post reports the “safe zone” would stretch over 100 km west of the Euphrates River and into Aleppo province. The Syrian opposition would then take over.

“The goal is to establish an ISIL-free zone and ensure greater security and stability along Turkey’s border with Syria,” a US official told the paper.

Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu over the weekend said people who have been displaced could then return to the zone.

Turkey hosts around 1.8 million Syrian refugees.

The plans are likely to be discussed at Tuesday’s Nato ministerial meeting.

Article 4

Ankara had invoked article 4 of the Nato treaty, used whenever a member feels threatened, following last week’s deadly bombing of some 30 young Kurds near the border town of Suruc.

“Turkey requested the meeting in view of the seriousness of the situation after the heinous terrorist attacks in recent days”, said Nato in a statement.

The secular PKK, for its part, has accused the Turkish authorities of colluding with IS in the bombing attack and retaliated by killing two Turkish police officers.

Ankara disputes this and says it is working against the jihadist group.

According to the prime minister’s office, authorities last year screened more than 4,500 foreign suspects wanting to join IS in Syria, denying entry to around 1,000 and deporting at least 600.

But the bombing has intensified a nation-wide crackdown on people Ankara views as a threat to its national security.

As of Monday, authorities in the country detained over 1,000 people they said were affiliated with the PKK, the Islamic State and other leftist movements in operations carried out in 34 Turkish cities.

Over the weekend, Turkish jet fighters hit PKK military targets in Iraq and, for the first time, Islamic state targets in Syria.

On Monday, it bombed a Kurdish village, provoking an outcry from the minority group whose Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) are on the frontline against the Islamic state.

The YPG accuse Turkey of also targeting its fighters and the Free Syria Army in Syria.

They say Turkey fired seven tank rounds on a Kurd and opposition-held town near the border and that they were also attacked as they laid siege to Isis-held positions in Jarabulus.

"We urge #Turkey leadership to halt this aggression and to follow international guidelines”, Rojava Defense Units said in a tweet.

Turkey denies the attack was deliberate.

Turkey's prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu, for his part, on Monday said they would continue to target the PKK despite its opposition to Islamic militants.

The US and Nato’s secretary general back Ankara’s crackdown on the outlawed PKK.

Turkey requests emergency Nato meeting on Syria

Turkey's two-pronged assault against Islamic state fighters in Syria and Kurdish militants in Iraq risks escalating conflict in a region long embroiled with violence.

Opinion

Turkey's dangerous gambit

The statement issued by the North Atlantic Council on Tuesday said little but was still unable to hide the disunity within Nato.

US and EU breaking taboos to restrain Israel

The US abstained and all EU states on the UN Security Council backed a call for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza, as Europe prepares to also blacklist extremist Israeli settlers.

EU warns Russia over Moscow terror attacks

Europe has warned Russia not to use the weekend's terror attacks in Moscow as a pretext to escalate its war in Ukraine and crackdown on internal dissent.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us