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Ankara’s Syria incursion risks sparking long-term ethnic feud in Turkey

Turkey’s military intervention into Afrin might disrupt the social ties between Turkey’s Kurds and Turks permanently and spark an ethnic Turkish-Kurdish feud that could last for generations.
Turkish forces are seen on Mount Barsaya in northeast of Afrin, Syria January 28, 2018.REUTERS/ Khalil Ashawi - RC1E13D8A6D0

Following a conspicuous silence that lasted almost three weeks, the European Union has finally opened its eyes to the tragic developments taking place in Syria's Afrin province. EU High Representative Federica Mogherini said Tuesday that they are “deeply worried” about the developments unfolding in northern Syria.

Ironically, Afrin has been relatively the most tranquil part of Syria until Turkey’s military intervention began in early January. In the beginning, it was thought that the operation would be a cakewalk for the Turkish army, the second-largest army in NATO. But Kurdish groups decided to defy the Turkish incursion, and the first three weeks of the operation proved it would not be as easy as was anticipated.

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