Turkey turns up pressure on allies in Syria
Turkey is using the jihadis’ march into Afrin to push its rebel allies in Syria to reorganize as a coherent, disciplined force. But what happens next if the factions fail to do so by the reported year-end deadline?
Turkey has launched a fresh effort to reorganize allied rebels in northern Syria and is reportedly using threats and ultimatums to discipline the disorderly factions that have backed Turkish forces in the Olive Branch and Euphrates Shield pockets in the Aleppo countryside.
Turkey is apparently using Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — the jihadi outfit controlling the northwestern province of Idlib — as a stick in its efforts to push the factions to form a joint military command and a joint administrative structure.
