Real target of Erdogan's Olive Branch could be US clout - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Amberin Zaman

Amberin Zaman

Feb 15, 2018

Turkish soldiers guard a position on Mount Bersaya, north of the Syrian town of Azaz near the border with Turkey, on January 29, 2018.
Turkey launched operation "Olive Branch" on January 20 against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia in Afrin, supporting Syrian opposition fighters with ground troops and air strikes. / AFP PHOTO / Nazeer al-Khatib (Photo credit should read NAZEER AL-KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images) — Turkish soldiers guard a position on Mount Bursaya, Syria, Jan. 29, 2018. — NAZEER AL-KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images

Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army fighter stands near stacked sandbags in Eastern Afrin, Syria, February 13, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC1A6D3C0CA0

Turkey’s assault adds to 'climate of repression and decline' in northern Syria

Week in Review

Syrian schoolchildren walk as U.S. troops patrol near Turkish border in Hasakah, Syria November 4, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC11C2532E70

Can observation posts calm Turkish-Kurdish tensions on Syria border?

Amberin Zaman

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

Turkish forces and Free Syrian Army are deployed in Afrin, Syria March 18, 2018. REUTERS/ Khalil Ashawi - RC1526525050

Fall of Afrin: Turkey’s Vietnam or Washington’s nightmare?

Cengiz Candar

A rebel fighter stands near a Turkish tank as it fires towards Guzhe village, northern Aleppo countryside, Syria October 17, 2016. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2P879

What is Turkey up to in northern Syria?

Mona Alami