A fight broke out in Turkey's parliament on Wednesday during tense discussions over the country's military involvement in north-west Syria. The clash started when Engin Özkoç of the opposition Republican People's party took the rostrum. During a news conference shortly before, Özkoç had called President Erdoğan 'dishonourable, ignoble, low and treacherous' and accused him of irresponsibility for sending troops into a conflict without air cover
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The humanitarian crisis in Turkey shines a light on Europe’s failures | Elif Shafak
Turkey was once on course to join the EU. The desperate refugees trapped on its border reflect a broken relationship
To understand Europe, we need to look more carefully at its borders. Too often, the debates on the future of Europe focus on a few leading nations and overlook the periphery. Yet the fate of the continent is deeply and inevitably connected with what’s happening along its fringes. And there is no bordering country that has as complex and confusing a relationship with Europe as Turkey – it was, after all, the Ottoman empire that was first referred to as “the sick man of Europe”.
Related: Migration: EU praises Greece as 'shield' after Turkey opens border
Continue reading...Putin and Erdoğan in last-ditch talks to secure Syria ceasefire
Russian and Turkish leaders will try to hammer out yet another deal to stabilise Idlib
A summit between the leaders of Turkey and Russia on Thursday may be the last chance to work out a deal that avoids further calamity in north-west Syria.
Faced with increasing military losses in Idlib province and a potential wave of people fleeing the fighting, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is eager for a ceasefire – and Vladimir Putin is ready to bargain.
Continue reading...Germany tweets to deter Syrian refugees, fearing ‘repeat of 2015’
Government says it will support Greece as thousands of people arrive at Turkish border
The German government – anxious about the political consequences of a “repeat of 2015” – is tolerating Greece’s decision to suspend asylum claims at its borders and has launched a social media campaign to deter Syrian refugees from embarking on a journey to central Europe.
About 12,500 people are estimated to be waiting on the Turkish side of the Greek border after the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said on Saturday that he would open his country’s borders for refugees fleeing the nine-year war in Syria to cross over into Europe.
Continue reading...‘Now we don’t have to be afraid’: Syrian family who made it to safety in Turkey
Turkish border with Syria remains closed to most but some have escaped horrors of Idlib
In a video shot by her father, three-year-old Salwa listens intently to the rumble of military hardware in the distance. “Is it a plane or a shell?” he asks as they sit together on the sofa. “Shell!” she shouts, giggling hysterically when it explodes.
Turning the sounds of airstrikes and shelling into a game is how Abdullah Mohammed, 32, protected his daughter from the trauma of Syria’s war. Last week the family made it to the safety of Antakya, just over the Turkish border. Dancing around her new home in a pink princess dress, for the first time in her life Salwa doesn’t have to listen to the sounds of the conflict.
Continue reading...Russia committed war crimes in Syria, finds UN report
The country was also blamed for indiscriminate attacks in civilian areas without ‘a specific military objective’
A UN investigation into atrocities committed in Syria has for the first time accused Russia of direct involvement in war crimes for indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas.
The latest report from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria focuses on events of July 2019 to January this year, and in particular attacks by “pro-government forces” on civilian targets like medical facilities, driving 700,000 civilians from their homes.
Continue reading...Clashes as thousands gather at Turkish border to enter Greece
EU border agency Frontex on high alert as Turkish president keeps crossings open
Migrants trying to reach Europe have clashed violently with Greek riot police as Turkey claimed more than 76,000 people were now heading for the EU as a result of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s decision to open the Turkish side of the border.
Officers fired teargas at the migrants, some of whom threw stones and wielded metal bars as they sought to force their way into Greece at the normally quiet crossing in the north-eastern town of Kastanies.
Continue reading...Erdoğan says border will stay open as Greece tries to repel influx
Turkish leader claims 18,000 people have crossed into EU but some are met with teargas
Thousands of migrants may be in no man’s land between Turkey and Greece after Ankara opened its western borders, sparking chaotic scenes as Greek troops attempted to prevent refugees from entering Europe en masse.
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, claimed 18,000 migrants had crossed the border, without immediately providing supporting evidence, but many appear to have been repelled by Greek border patrols firing teargas and stun grenades.
Continue reading...Refugees in Istanbul rush to board coach to reach Turkish border to Europe – video
Dozens of Syrian refugees were seen rushing to board coaches in Turkey's Istanbul on Friday after Ankara decided to open its border to Europe. The move comes after an airstrike on Thursday killed at least 33 Turkish soldiers in Syria's Idlib province. Fearing the window to leave Turkey would soon close, some of the 3.6 million Syrians living in the country have begun to vacate
- Greece and Bulgaria crack down on Turkish borders as refugees arrive
- Nato expresses 'full solidarity' with Turkey over Syria airstrikes
Russia and Turkey’s next moves will define the Syrian war’s end
Neither side can back down from proxy standoff, but Russia holds whip hand in Idlib
For more than three years, Russia and Turkey have been shadow boxing on the soils of northern Syria. In the past three weeks, the stalking has turned to shooting; the Turks aiming their guns at the Moscow-allied Assad regime, and the Russians increasingly swinging their turrets towards the Turkish military.
In a war fought largely through proxies, any direct conflict between main players was considered highly dangerous and, until Thursday night, unlikely. But after the deaths of at least 30 Turkish troops – most likely the consequence of a Russian airstrike – both sides are in a standoff from which neither can afford to back down.
Continue reading...Greece and Bulgaria crack down on Turkish borders as refugees arrive
Move appears designed to put pressure on Europe to support Turkey’s Idlib operation
Hundreds of refugees in Turkey began arriving at the country’s borders with Greece and Bulgaria on Friday after Ankara suddenly indicated it would no longer block their passage to Europe.
The move prompted both neighbouring nations to shore up their borders as their governments insisted they would not allow anyone to enter. Greek police used smoke grenades at one border crossing, while Bulgaria sent an extra 1,000 troops to its frontier with Turkey.
Continue reading...Syria: footage shows rescue mission after airstrikes target schools in Idlib – video
The White Helmets civil defence service has released footage showing a rescue operation after airstrikes by the Syrian regime and Russian forces on Tuesday. Eight school facilities were bombed in Idlib province, Syria, in a single day, killing more than 20 people as the battle for control of the country’s last opposition stronghold intensified
Continue reading...Syria: 21 dead as targets including schools and nurseries bombed in Idlib
Six schools and two nurseries reported targets of airstrikes by Assad regime and Russia
Eight school facilities have been bombed in Idlib province, in Syria, in a single day as the battle for control of the country’s last opposition stronghold intensifies.
The attacks came despite warnings that the violence has already led to the worst humanitarian crisis in the Syrian war to date.
Continue reading...Idlib’s despair won’t end bloodshed in Syria. It will provoke a rebel fightback | Hassan Hassan
Freed from the need to defend their last stronghold, the jihadists there will be well placed to regroup and take the struggle underground
Outsiders can be forgiven for being tired of the Syrian conflict. After all, the violence has lasted for nearly a decade and the worst chapters – for outsiders, at least – have come and gone: Islamic State (Isis) seized almost half the country, in addition to one-third of Iraq and launched a global network of terror in 2014. But the world has now caught its breath and the threat has all but ended. Refugees, too, flooded Europe some years ago but the influx has been contained.
Also, expert warnings about a resurgence of violence or extremism did not materialise and the return of state control seems to be the steady trajectory of the conflict despite persistent problems. Most of the country is currently under the control of either the regime, Turkey or the United States-backed Kurdish forces in eastern Syria. Even in the Kurdish zone, many would concede that it might be just a matter of time before these areas are recaptured by Damascus, even without much fighting, if and when the US eventually ends its presence there.
Continue reading...Syria: the fight for Idlib
A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in northern Syria after the government’s attempt to take back the opposition-held city of Idlib. Bethan McKernan describes how the fighting and freezing conditions have caused hundreds of thousands of displaced people to flee for their lives. Also today: Justin McCurry on the evacuation of the coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship
At the Syria-Turkey border, thousands of refugees are fleeing for their lives, having left the opposition-held city of Idlib, which is under assault from government forces back by Russia. More than 900,000 men, women and children have made the journey north in appalling conditions, the largest exodus of people in the country’s long civil war.
The Guardian’s Middle East correspondent, Bethan McKernan, has been following the story and tells Rachel Humphreys that the humanitarian crisis is worsening – as the world watches on.
Continue reading...On the ground in Idlib: ‘This is the last call to people with humanity to help’ – video
The UN has estimated that 170,000 of the 900,000 civilians forced from their homes in a recent wave of displacement in north-west Syria are living out in the open. Laith, an activist who is part of the White Helmets volunteer group, has called for the international community to 'stand with [those] who left their homes and be with them in the camps'. The massive displacement follows an escalation of Russian-supported offensives by the Assad regime to the destroy the last rebel bastions in Idlib and Aleppo provinces
Continue reading...Gezi park verdict may be mere political ploy of isolated Ankara
Acquittals are welcome but not necessarily a signal of change at heart of government
One defendant in the Gezi park trial grimly predicted the expected results of Tuesday’s hearing would be the “funeral of civil society in Turkey”. But a surprise verdict led to applause and tears of joy as nine of the activists charged with terrorism offences for their alleged roles in organising the 2013 protests walked free from the Istanbul courthouse.
The unexpected acquittals of nine of the 16 defendants – lawyers say not guilty verdicts for the seven others being tried in absentia are also expected if they return to the country – were a rare spot of good news in Turkey, where the judicial system has been hollowed out and weaponised against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s opponents and critics.
Continue reading...Syrian father teaches daughter to cope with shelling noise through laughter – video
In video posted on social media, Abdullah Mohammad and his daughter Salwa, three, can be heard laughing at the sound of shelling in Syria. Mohammad, who moved his family from Idlib to Sarmada district, has tried to insulate his daughter from trauma by telling her the noise of bombs is part of a game. In September 2018, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are prohibited, but since then more than 1,800 civilians have been killed in attacks by the Assad regime and Russian forces
Continue reading...Greece’s refugee plan is inhumane and doomed to fail. The EU must step in | Apostolis Fotiadis
The government wants to create massive detention centres, but this is being resisted by locals and refugees alike
Since the start of the year, Greece’s reception system for migrants has imploded. A spike of arrivals over the past few months, caused by Turkey’s police operations removing refugees and asylum seekers from its western coastal cities and sending them back to the regions where they were registered, has pushed the existing accommodation to its limits.
Between September 2019 and January 2020, the Greek government transferred 14,750 people from the islands to the mainland, as 36,000 new arrivals crossed the Aegean to Greece from Turkey. While the system is unable to absorb any more people, efforts to establish additional camps in the mainland and new detention centres on the islands have met strong resistance from local communities.
Continue reading...Families trapped by Assad’s assault on Idlib fight to survive in the snow
Vast numbers of people are caught between regime bombings and closed Turkish border
Hundreds of thousands of civilians, many of them women and children, are stranded with little food or shelter in sub-zero temperatures in north-western Syria, forced from their homes by a Russian-backed military offensive that has often targeted hospitals and other civilian infrastructure.
The assault on Idlib, the last stronghold of the Syrian opposition, has created one of the greatest humanitarian crises of a long and brutal war. It has displaced more than 800,000 people since December, the United Nations said, 143,000 of them in the last three days alone.
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