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Will Turkey's horrible human rights record extend to 2019?

Turkey is closing out 2018 without taking a breather from its oppressive tactics for stifling dissent.
A member of the Saturday Mothers looks out of the window of Human Rights Association after they were prevented by the security forces to march to Galatasaray Square, where they hold a vigil every week, sitting in silence and holding pictures of relatives who went missing in police detention, in Istanbul, Turkey September 8, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1FDA40D300

Even as the West looks back over Turkey's blighted human rights record for 2018, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is warning the United States of pending military interventions against Kurds in northern Syria.

On Dec. 14, during his speech at an Islamic Cooperation Organization conference in Istanbul, Erdogan said Turkish fighters will enter Manbij unless the United States removes the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) from the area. The United States and the YPG have fought together against the Islamic State in Syria. Turkey considers the YPG to be affiliated with a terrorist group.

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