Eurasia Press & News
Islamic State fighters seized control of a third of the key Syrian border town of Kobane today, as Turkey rejected sending in troops on its own against the jihadists. IS militants advanced in the strategic town overnight despite intensified US air strikes, as calls grew for ground action to support …
Read More »France backs buffer-zone between Syria and Turkey
French President Francois Hollande Wednesday said he would back the creation of a buffer zone between Syria and Turkey to protect displaced civilians fleeing the bloody Daech offensive. Talking to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over phone, Hollande discussed the “alarming situation in northern Syria mainly in Kobani city” which …
Read More »New NATO chief to visit Turkey
Jens Stoltenberg, the new NATO secretary-general, is set to pay his first visit to Turkey since he took office on Oct. 1. Stoltenberg is expected to discuss security concerns posed to Turkey by the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Read More »Intensified air strikes help Kurdish militia push back IS in Kobani
Intensified air strikes helped Kurdish militia push back Islamic State jihadists fighting for Kobani, as pressure mounted yesterday for more international action to save the key Syrian border town. Across the frontier in Turkey, the government’s lack of action against the jihadists was drawing a furious response, with at least 19 …
Read More »Syria buffer zone not yet to be considered by Pentagon
The idea of a buffer zone along the Syrian border to protect displaced people “is not something that is under consideration right now,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said on Wednesday, while a Pentagon spokesman said the idea was not under active consideration “as a military option.” The remark …
Read More »Turkey holds security summit on IS
Turkey held a security summit on Wednesday as Islamic State (IS) militants were approaching the center of the Syrian border town of Kobane, a crisis that triggered violent protests across Turkey in which 19 people have been killed. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu convened the meeting in an effort to combat IS …
Read More »Syria unveils four chemical facilities
Syria has declared four chemical weapons facilities it hadn’t mentioned before, a special representative of the UN secretary-general has told the Security Council. The news heightened concerns that the Syrian government hasn’t been fully open about its chemical weapons program. Diplomats said Sigrid Kaag told them during closed consultations that …
Read More »Erdogan says IS, PKK are the same
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist group is not different from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Saturday. “For us, the PKK is the same as ISIL. It is wrong to consider them as different from each other,” Erdoğan told reporters …
Read More »Syrian opposition takes control of new areas in south of country
Opposition forces on Monday seized control of new sites in the governorate of Daraa, south of Syria, as part of a plan to open a way to break the siege on western Ghouta areas, on the outskirts of Damascus. The regime’s troops, meanwhile, controlled Al-Dakhakniya neighborhood on the capital’s outskirts.
Read More »France to increase the number of air patrols over Iraq
The French Ministry of Defense says Paris is going to step up its military presence in Iraq by increasing the number of air “patrols” over the crisis-hit country. “We will increase the rate of our patrols,” said French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Sunday, adding, “With nine Rafale (aircraft) in the …
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