Rojava

An official report prepared by U.S. National Security Director Daniel Coats and presented to the U.S. Congress on Feb. 13 defined the People’s Protection Units (YPG) as the Syrian wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), acknowledging that it is searching for autonomy.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Feb. 13 that Turkey’s military operation to remove People’s Protection Units (YPG) from the Syrian district of Afrin is hampering the U.S.-led coalition’s efforts to maintain the focus on the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria.

Former Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) co-chair Salih Muslim, who was added to the “most wanted terrorists” list by the Turkish Interior Ministry on Feb. 12, is expected to hold a press conference in the Belgian capital of Brussels on Feb. 14. 

The U.S.’s decision to give more financial support to Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) “will affect Turkey’s decisions,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Feb. 13. 

The Pentagon on Feb. 12 requested $300 million to train and equip the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and wants nearly as much to build a “border security force” with them in Syria.

The Ankara Metropolitan Municipality has decided to change the name of a street in front of the United States Embassy to “Olive Branch,” which is the name of Turkey’s military operation in the Afrin province of Syria.

A total of 474 suspects were detained across Turkey last week for “promoting” the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) on social media, the Interior Ministry stated on Feb. 12. 

Turkey’s Interior Ministry has added former Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) co-leader Salih Muslim and the leader of an outlawed pro-Bashar al-Assad organization, Mihraç Ural, to its “wanted terrorists” list along with several new names.

A total of 1,369 Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) have been “neutralized” since the launch of Turkey’s “Operation Olive Branch” in the northern Syrian district of Afrin, the Turkish military stated on Feb. 12.

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis on Feb. 11 acknowledged that some members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – the U.S.-backed militant group dominated by the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) – had shifted to the Afrin district amid Turkey’s ongoing military operation there, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Feb. 12.