The Heat: Turkey launches military offense against Syrian Kurds

The Heat

Turkey and its Syrian rebel allies have begun a ground offensive in northern Syria, hours after warplanes and artillery began hitting territory held by Kurdish-led forces.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has long threatened to attack the Kurdish fighters. Ankara considers them terrorists allied with a Kurdish insurgency in Turkey.

The offensive began after the United States pulled its troops from the region, leaving its Kurdish ally without U.S. military support.

CGTN’s Michal Bardavid reports from the Turkey-Syrian border. 

To discuss the ongoing Turkish military offensive: 

  • Metin Gurcan is a security analyst and columnist for Al-Monitor’s Turkey Pulse.
  • Giran Ozcan is the U.S. representative for Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party.
  • Dlshad Othman is a Kurdish-Syrian activist and cyber security specialist.
  • Edmund Ghareeb is a Middle East scholar and analyst.

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