3 R's: Rounding Up Related Reports I'll relink previous posts regarding the border wall construction below this latest news reportDW: Turkey's wall more then half done
Turkey has erected 290 kilometers (180 miles) of a planned 511-kilometer (317 miles) "security wall" along its border with war-torn Syria, local media reported on Sunday, quoting the head of the body building the structure.
The wall is made from portable concrete blocks each weighing seven tons. The blocks are 2-meters thick (6.5-foot) at the base and 3-meters (10-foot) high, topped by a meter of razor wire. Along the entire wall roads are being built for military patrols and watch towers are being erected.
"The wall is a further indication that the Turkish government is determined to stop people, including refugees, coming through," said Andrew Gardner, Amnesty International's Turkey researcher.
Good for Turkey! It's their border and their nation.
Turkey has taken in more than three million Syrian refugees.
Amnesty International- Go Away! Just another No Good OrganizationSometimes neighbours need fences and many times nations need secure borders! Wish Canada would seal up it's leaky borders... Rather then having the RCMP assisting persons hightailing into Canada from the US. Under the claim of persecution by the Trump administration- all illusory. Previously:August 2016 - Turkey's Border Wall With SyriaNovember 2016 - Turkey: No US Cooperation on Safe Zone/Border Wall Construction Continues & Raqqa
"U.S. officials have said they hope to start an offensive against Islamic State in Raqqa within weeks, and have said that the SDF will play a big role"
The recent news regarding Raqqa and Turkey reads like posts from 2016. From above and below- October 30/2016: The US & Israel's Taking of Raqqa Impeded by Intermeddlers
Turkey said they’ll clear Raqqa with their own military and boots on the ground- Turkey does have a very large military but the US has to agree the Kurds stay away. However, the US INSISTS the PKK/YPG/TAK and company be involved in taking Raqqa from ISIS. It is this insistence on the part of the US that tells us the truth of the agenda- The US wants the PKK terrorist group and it's friendlies to take Raqqa.
Turkey’s offer to assist in Raqqa still hinges on PKK not participating in the move.Nothing has changed. The US is still insisting it’s terror besties continue on with the plan to take Raqqa- Turkey has pretty much made the same offer as last year. Dump the Kurds and we’ll help with RaqqaDaily Sabah-Turkey offers US alternative Raqqa plans sans YPGLet’s see how sacrosanct the NATO alliance really is?
Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday reiterated that Raqqa could be cleared of Daesh's presence if Ankara and the U.S.-led coalition reached a deal. Speaking in the southeastern province of Gaziantep, Erdogan said, "If we come to terms with coalition forces, we will be able to cleanse Raqqa of Daesh as well."
Gee the coalition shouldn’t have a problem getting rid of ISIS, should they?
The YPG, under the guise of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has been on its way to Raqqa. According to sources close to the YPG, which Ankara considers a terrorist group, it was only kilometers away from Raqqa, the Syrian city on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River.
The Obama administration supported the PKK-affiliated YPG, and despite Ankara's ultimatums and stern warnings, the U.S. did not abstain from further solidifying relations with the terrorist group. However, whether the Trump administration continues this backing is still a question. A major policy shift in Washington in favor of Ankara could be a game changer on the ground.According to reports, Akar told his counterpart that ground forces were vital to retake Raqqa. Though Turkey will not get directly involved in an operation to liberate Raqqa from Daesh, it will provide tactical support, as confirmed by Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Saturday.
Ankara has claimed that several thousand FSA fighters were ready to engage Daesh to liberate Raqqa. The FSA has been effective in Operation Euphrates Shield, which began in late last August to improve security, support coalition forces and eliminate the terror threat along Turkey's southern borders.If Washington decides to go with Ankara's plan to liberate Raqqa, it will need to convince the YPG to let FSA troops, in cooperation with the Turkish military, pass through Tal Abyad to Raqqa. The U.S. may have to cut off its ammunition and weapons supply to the terrorist group.
The US will not take the offer because they are going to move ahead on those ‘safe’ zones aka no fly zones to aid in the annexing of Syrian territory, permanently.March 01/2017: Turkey warns US against partnering with PYD for Raqqa offensive
President Erdogan said that Turkey was coordinating with Russia and the U.S.-led coalition, regarding its possible involvement in the Raqqa operation, while making clear that the country would not accept any involvement of the PKK-affiliated Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing, the People's Protection Units (YPG), in the operation.
Speaking at a weekly parliamentary meeting, AK Party Chairman and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim echoed the president's remarks, and confirmed that discussions with the U.S., coalition forces and Russia, on a joint Raqqa operation, were ongoing.
Erdogan Putin Meeting Moscow March 9-10
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow March 9-10, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “I confirm. Negotiations [between Putin and Erdogan] have been planned,” Peskov told journalists.Reports of a planned Putin-Erdogan meeting emerged earlier in the Turkish media. The Turkish leader will take part in the Turkey-Russia High Level Cooperation Council.Both leaders met earlier in October 2016 in Istanbul, where they discussed restoring trade, the Turkish Stream gas pipeline, and cooperation in Syria.