SDF

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss Syria and Libya, an official statement said on Dec. 29.

According to the statement issued by Turkey's Directorate of Communications, the two leaders also addressed the bilateral relations and regional developments.

Four PKK/YPG terrorists surrendered to Turkish security forces, the Interior Ministry announced on Dec. 22.

Three terrorists were convinced by Turkish forces. Another fled the terror group and surrendered to the Turkish forces in the southeastern province of Şırnak.

At least one civilian was killed and 26 injured in a car bomb attack in northern Syria on Dec. 18, according to Turkey's National Defense Ministry.

"Another crime has been added to the list of inhumane terror attacks carried out by PKK/YPG terrorists who know no limits when it comes to evil," the ministry said on Twitter.

The U.S. has sent a group of experts to Syria's biggest oil field in Deir ez-Zor province currently under the occupation of the YPG/PKK terror group, in hopes of increasing production.

Egyptian and Saudi experts, who were tasked by the U.S. with enhancing oil production at al-Omar oil field, arrived in the region on Dec. 13, according to local sources.

Turkish troops have taken control of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain border towns of Syria, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Oct. 14.
"Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ain are under control. Work for the control of the region is ongoing," he told reporters after his meeting with the leader of opposition İYİ (Good) Party, Meral Akşener.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis has a difficult task ahead. In a visit to Turkey Wednesday, he will step into the thicket of competing interests that characterizes one of America’s most important military partnerships. At the center of the difficulty is American efforts in Syria, which rely fundamentally on a collection of local forces among whom are actors Turkey considers terrorists.

Washington’s main Syrian ally in the fight against Islamic State says the U.S. military will remain in northern Syria long after the jihadists are defeated, predicting enduring ties with the Kurdish-dominated region.

U.S.-backed rebels said on Nov. 6 they were launching an operation to retake the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). 

ZAGREB - The Serb Democratic Forum (SDF) warned on Tuesday that discrimination of Serbia and other minorities is still present when it comes to closing employment contracts in public administration.

This is one of the biggest problems in the implementation of the Constitutional law on national minorities' rights and the Action plan for the period from 2011 to 2014, SDF released.