Could Turkey’s misstep in Manbij provide template for Raqqa? - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Week in Review

Week in Review

Mar 5, 2017

A Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighter rushes to help civilians who were evacuated by the SDF from an Islamic State-controlled neighborhood of Manbij, in Aleppo governorate, Syria, Aug. 12, 2016. — REUTERS/Rodi Said

Turkish move blocked by Syrian forces

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not winning friends with US military planners by threatening to attack Manbij, a predominantly Arab town controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Pentagon’s partner of choice among armed groups battling the Islamic State.

Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters walk on the rubble of damaged shops and buildings in the city of Manbij, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria, August 10, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTSMDAF

Syrian Kurds cede buffer as Turkish-backed FSA advances on Manbij

Amberin Zaman

Amberin Zaman

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu attend a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX33DCF

Did the US, Turkey reach understanding on Assad?

Week in Review

Week in Review

Fighters of the Manbij military council, allied to Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), take an overwatch position in the southern rural area of Manbij, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria June 1, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said/File Photo - RTX2ONCT

Will Turkey attack Kurds in Manbij or move on to Raqqa?

Fehim Tastekin

Fehim Tastekin

In Paris, reporting on Turkish politics

Yahya Sinwar (C), the new leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, arrives for the opening of a new mosque in Rafah town in the southern Gaza Strip on February 24, 2017. / AFP / SAID KHATIB (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran pulls Palestine from the margins

Week in Review

Week in Review