ISTANBUL // Turkey on Saturday expanded its cross-border strikes against ISIL in Syria to include Kurdish militant bases in northern Iraq, potentially alienating the most effective ground forces against the extremist group and effectively ending its two-year ceasefire with Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK).
Turkish air force jets struck PKK shelters, bunkers, caves, storages facilities and other “logistical points”, the government said, including in the Qandil mountains where the group’s command is based.
It was the first time Turkish jets have struck Kurd positions in northern Iraq since a peace deal was announced in 2013 between Ankara and the PKK, which has waged a battle for Kurdish rights in Turkey since 1984 that has claimed more than 40,000 lives.
The PKK’s military command responded by declaring that the truce reached with jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan had “become meaningless” and would be replaced with “an immediate expansion in armed resistance”.
Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu in turn pledged to “take all the necessary measures if the PKK continues its attacks.”
Turkey had on Friday launched two rounds of ground and air strikes on ISIL targets in Syria for the first time, actively joining the US-led global coalition against the extremist group. Ankara also agreed to allow other coalition members to launch strikes from bases on its territory.
The actions followed a suicide bombing in the town of Suruc on Monday that killed 32 people and the death of a Turkish border guard on Thursday, both of which Ankara blamed on ISIL. Turkish authorities also intensified a countrywide crackdown on suspected ISIL members, with nearly 600 people arrested in raids since Friday.
The bombing in the Kurdish majority town near the Syrian border renewed accusations by the PKK that the government was covertly supporting ISIL. The group has attacked police stations and military outposts throughout Turkey’s Kurdish-majority south-east since the bombing.
It said two police officers shot dead in the city of Sanliurfa on Wednesday had aided the Suruc bomber.
“Turkey now faces a two-front war,” said Behlul Ozkan, an assistant professor of social sciences at Marmara University in Istanbul. “One objective is clearing out ISIL at home and along the Syrian border, which carries the glaring threat of retaliatory attacks,” he said. “At the same time, Ankara has to show the PKK it is serious about deterring attacks.”
Faced with a common enemy in ISIL, Ankara and Kurdish rebels might appear to have more reason to unite than ever. Kurdish leader Ocalan even came close an historic peace deal with Ankara earlier this year, though the agreement was shelved in the run-up to Turkey's June elections.
Yet Kurdish anger against Ankara has been simmering since last October, when ISIL laid siege to the Syrian border town of Kobani.
While the US-led coalition organised weapon drops to the town’s Kurdish defenders, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that Kobani’s PKK-linked fighters were, in Ankara’s eyes, “the same as Daesh”.
However, with the coalition’s backing the fighters of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) have proved the most effective fighters against ISIL in Syria, not only repelling the attack on Kobani in January but going on to claim key territory from the extremists in recent months.
The comments by Mr Erdogan fuelled accusations by the Kurdish-rooted Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) that Ankara’s failure to stop the flow of ISIL’s foreign foreign recruits across its border and general hands-off approach towards the extremists were evidence of a covert alliance between the group and Mr Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Turkey’s reluctance to act against ISIL may have been out of concerns for its own security.
“Now that Turkey is taking some clear measures against ISIL, maybe people could change their minds,” said Arzu Yilmaz, a researcher on Kurdish affairs at Ankara University. “But it is clearly too late. Senior members of the PKK have become convinced of that ISIL is a creation of the AKP.”
Along with the start of strikes against ISIL and allowing the use of Turkish airbases to strike the group in Syria, officials said on Saturday that there were plans in the coming months to create an “ISIL-free zone” in Syria along the last 95km stretch of border controlled by the group.
These new steps show that “the Turkish republic is pretty much all-in versus ISIL,” said Francis Ricciardone, a former US ambassador to Turkey.
This has not convinced the Kurds, who condemned recent anti-terror raids for targeting their community as well as ISIL members.
“It’s obvious that anti-ISIL arrests are going to be limited in scope,” said Ertugrul Kurkcu, a deputy for the HDP.
“Meanwhile, over 200 of our party members and officials have been detained. Only the Kurds have stood up against ISIL.”
Though Mr Kurkcu condemned the recent violence by Kurdish insurgents, vigilante killings of suspected ISIL members have increased in recent days.
The PKK’s youth wing claimed it had killed an ISIL militant in Istanbul earlier this week, while in the Turkish city of Adana, a member of a Kurdish Islamist party was fatally shot.
Amid this internal conflict, ISIL is more likely than ever to launch an attack that might further destabilise Turkey, said Mr Ozkan. “ISIL is estimated to have around 700 Turkish-born members currently. We know there are sleeper cells in Turkey, and the situation is extremely risky,” he said.
He said Ankara’s action against the extremsits had been long overdue.
“Turkey is doing something it knows it must do. But Turkey remains vulnerable, and it’s a shame that this crackdown didn’t begin long before ISIL became so entrenched in Turkey.”
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting from Associated Press
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
Ammar 808:
Maghreb United
Sofyann Ben Youssef
Glitterbeat
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group H
Juventus v Valencia, Tuesday, midnight (UAE)
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Ibrahim's play list
Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute
Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc
Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar
His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach
Also enjoys listening to Mozart
Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz
Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica
Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
The biog
Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.
His advice to anyone starting out in business is to have no fear as life is about taking on challenges.
“If you have the ambition and dream of something, follow that dream, be positive, determined and set goals.
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Mr Stephen sells his luxury fragrances at selected perfumeries around the UAE, including the House of Niche Boutique in Al Seef.
He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking.
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Defined benefit and defined contribution schemes explained
Defined Benefit Plan (DB)
A defined benefit plan is where the benefit is defined by a formula, typically length of service to and salary at date of leaving.
Defined Contribution Plan (DC)
A defined contribution plan is where the benefit depends on the amount of money put into the plan for an employee, and how much investment return is earned on those contributions.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The essentials
What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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