Turkish troops and the Syrian fighters have been trying to take the summit of Bursaya Hill, overlooking the eastern approach to Afrin town. However, Syrian government forces were preventing people from crossing government-held checkpoints to reach the Kurdish-held districts of nearby Aleppo city, it said. If the United States doesn’t stop this, we will stop it,” foreign minister Mevlüt Çavusoglu was reported as saying on Tuesday. “Our goal is not to clash with Russians, the Syrian regime or the United States, it is to battle the terrorist organisation,” broadcaster Haberturk quoted him as saying. “The future of our relations depends on the step the United States will take next,” Mr Çavusoglu said.

Source: The Irish Times January 23, 2018 09:56 UTC