Turkey pounds Syrian border towns, sparking exodus 0 SHARES Share it! The Kurdish forces targeted by Turkey were the US-led coalition’s main ground partner in years of battle against the Islamic State group and its now-defunct “caliphate”. Outgunned Kurdish forces were putting up stiff resistance but experts predict they will not hold out very long without outside assistance. Ras al-Ain, Tal Abyad and other border towns between them have been almost emptied of their population in a huge wave of displacement. “Is it all simply because we are Kurds?”Erdogan wants to create a buffer between the border and territory controlled by Syrian Kurdish forces, who have links with Turkey’s own Kurdish rebels.

Source: Manila Bulletin October 11, 2019 15:33 UTC