Turkey strikes IS in Syria
Tensions rise over border town
An injured Syrian child receives treatment at a makeshift hospital following a reported air strike on the rebel-held town of Douma, east of the capital Damascus,
on Aug 23.
ANKARA, Turkey, Aug 23, (AP): Turkish artillery shelled Islamic State targets across the border in Syria for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, a senior Turkish official said, amid reports that Turkeybacked Syrian rebels are preparing an offensive against an IS-held border town.
The latest developments have thrust the town of Jarablus onto center stage in the ongoing Syrian civil war, putting US-backed Kurdish forces, who have been the most effective force against IS in northern Syria, on track for a confrontation with NATO ally Turkey over control of the town.
Jarablus is a vital supply line and the last border point that directly connects the Islamic State group with Turkey and the outside world, and separates Kurdishcontrolled areas in northern Syria.
The town is 33 kms (20 miles) from the town of Manbij, which was liberated from IS by Kurdish-led forces earlier this month. Taking over Jarablus and the IS held town of al-Bab further south would be a significant step toward linking up border areas under Kurdish control east and west of the Euphrates River.
The Ankara official said the Turkish shelling came after mortar rounds, believed to have been fired by the militants from Jarablus, landed on Turkish territory. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations, did not provide further details.
Turkey has increased security measures at its border opposite IS-held Jarablus, deploying tanks and armored personnel carriers in recent days. Turkey has also vowed to fight IS militants at home and to “cleanse” the group from its borders after a weekend suicide bombing at a Kurdish wedding in southern Turkey that killed at least 54 people, many of them children. Turkish officials have blamed IS for the attack.
Ankara is also concerned about the growing power of US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces, who it says are linked to Kurdish groups waging an insurgency in southeastern Turkey.
A Kurdish-led group known as the Syr--
ia Democratic Forces earlier this month liberated Manbij, triggering concerns in Ankara that they would seize the entire border strip with Turkey. The US says it has embedded some 300 special forces with the SDF. French and British special forces have also been spotted advising the SDF.
Syrian activists meanwhile say that hundreds of Turkish-backed Syrian opposition fighters are gathered in the Turkish border area of Karkamis in preparation for an attack on Jarablus.
Nasser Haj Mansour, an SDF official
on the Syrian side of the border, said the fighters gathering in Turkey include “terrorists” as well as Turkish special forces. He declined to comment on whether the SDF would send fighters to the town, but a statement from the SDF said “we are prepared to defend the country against any plans for a direct or indirect occupation.”
The reports and rhetoric appeared to set up a confrontation between the SDF, the most effective US proxy in Syria, and NATO ally Turkey.
A rebel commander affiliated with the
SDF was killed shortly after broadcasting a statement announcing the formation of the so-called Jarablus Military Council and vowing to protect civilians in Jarablus from Turkish “aggression.”
Abdel-Sattar al-Jader was shot by unknown gunmen late Monday, an hour after he accused Turkey of mobilizing fighters and “terrorists” for Jarablus. Al-Jader had pledged to resist Turkish efforts to take control of the city and warned Ankara against further aggression. The SDF declared its full support for the council.
sues,” reiterated Dr. Chie Umandap, the Founder and Chairman of Ako-OFW, a group of advocates from various parts of the world bound together to protect the rights & welfare of OFWs.
However, recruitment agencies have expressed strong opposition to the idea of temporary suspension on the deployment of HSWs to Kuwait.
“We believe that moratorium is not the solution to the problem. Our government should enhance the trainings of our HSWs in the Philippines because there are a lot of incidents in Kuwait that the HSW is homesick and overworked and they need to be trained and introduced to how it is to work in Kuwait,” pointed out Jones Garcia, the President of the Filipino Association of Secretaries of Agencies in Kuwait.
Following Lagunzad and Cacdac’s visit, the Philippines will be sending a composite team to Kuwait soon composed of representatives from the Department of Justice, Public Attorney’s Office, Department of Social Work and Development, Department of Health, DOLE and POEA.
“It is really public policy to protect them. We do it in many ways. One is through bilateral means. Another is by regulating the recruitment agencies back home and then we have our POLO here and our embassy so we work together so that we can protect our workers and that composite team will submit a recommendation and the recommendations will vary depending on the results of the mission. But again the measure of moratorium is still on the table,” reiterated Lagunzad.