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Well this looks like it - what may prove to be the first salvos in
a global East-West conflict that pits the main players against each other, rather than the proxy armies we have seen thus far.
It would not be an exageration to say that this is an EXTREMELY dangerous point in human history.
Combine that with a world economy that is collapsing before our very eyes and runaway climate change and we have the perfect storm.
I wish I was exagerating.
Turkey
Shells Aleppo, Says "Massive Escalation" In Syria Imminent
As Saudis Ready Airstrikes
13
February, 2016
Update:
Washington has now weighed in and is asking the Turks to please stop
shelling the soldiers the Pentagon is arming.
*
* *
AFP news agency
#BREAKING US urges Turkey to halt artillery fire on Kurd, regime forces in Syria
Even as all sides - including the US, Russia,
Saudi Arabia, and select rebel groups - pretend to be working towards
a ceasefire and a diplomatic solution to the five year conflict in
Syria, actions speak louder than words, and to put it as succinctly
as possible, everyone is still fighting.
In
fact, the fighting is more intense than ever. Russia
and Hezbollah are closing in on Aleppo, the country’s largest city
and a key urban center where rebels are dug in for what amounts to a
last stand.
If the city is liberated by the government (and yes, “liberated”
is more accurate than “falls” because occupied territory belongs
to the Syrian government, not to Sunni extremists), Assad will have
regained control of the country’s backbone in the west.
That
would effectively mean the end of the rebellion and the Gulf
monarchies, not to mention Turkey, are not happy about it. “The
main battle is about cutting the road between Aleppo and Turkey, for
Turkey is the main conduit of supplies for the terrorists,” Assad
said in an
interview with
AFP on Friday.
That
supply line has been severed and now, it’s do or die time for the
rebels’ Sunni benefactors in Ankara, Riyadh, and Doha. Either
intervene or watch as Hezbollah rolls up the opposition under cover
of Russian airstrikes, restoring the Assad government and securing
the Shiite crescent for the Iranians.
As
we documented extensively this week, the Saudis and the Turks are now
set to invade. Assad has promised to “confront them”, which of
course means that the
IRGC and Hassan Nasrallah's army are set to come into direct contact
with Turkish and Saudi troops, setting the stage for an all-out
sectarian war that will almost invariably end up pitting NATO against
the Russians. Note
that this is different from Yemen, where Tehran fights via proxies
rather than directly against the Saudi military.
On
Saturday the stakes were raised when Turkey said Saudi
Arabia is set to send warplanes to Incirlik.
As
a reminder, access to Incirlik was the carrot Erdogan used last
summer to convince NATO to acquiesce to Ankara’s brutal crackdown
on the PKK. “Let me wage war against my political rivals, and you
can use our airbase,” is a fair approximation of Erdogan’s
proposition.
Now,
it appears the Saudis are set to use the base as a staging ground for
strikes in Syria.
As RT
reports,
“Saudi
Arabia is to deploy military jets and personnel to Turkey’s
Incirlik Air Base in the south of the country.”
Of
course the excuse is the same as it ever was for everyone involved:
the fight against ISIS.
"The
deployment is part of the US-led effort to defeat the Islamic State
terrorist group," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
said. "At every coalition meeting, we have always
emphasized the need for an extensive result-oriented strategy in the
fight against the Daesh terrorist group,” he dded.
Cavusoglu
was speaking to the Yeni Safak newspaper after addressing the 52nd
Munich Security Conference where over 60 foreign and defense
ministers are gathered (see here for
more from the meeting).
"If
we have such a strategy, then
Turkey and Saudi Arabia may launch a ground operation,”
he dded.
Remember
that Ankara’s primary concern in the country is ensuring that the
YPG (i.e. the Kurdish opposition that Erdogan equates with the PKK
and thus with “terrorism”) doesn’t end up declaring a sovereign
state on Turkey’s border. That, Erdogan fears, may embolden Kurds
in Turkey who are already pushing for more autonomy.
In
short: somehow,
Turkey and Saudi Arabia need to figure out how to spin an attack on
the YPG and an effort to rescue the opposition at Aleppo as an
anti-ISIS operation even though ISIS doesn’t have a large presence
in the area.
How
they plan to do that is anyone’s guess, but the following tweets
should tell you everything you need to know about where this is
headed.
The Int'l Spectator
BREAKING: Turkish artillery is striking Kurdish-held Minnigh Airbase in Aleppo, Syria, according to militants.
Michael Horowitz
Conflict News 
As
you can see, Turkey has begun shelling Aleppo in what is indeed a
very serious escalation that will likely prompt a Russian response.
"Shelling
was reported at Menagh air base, a former Syrian Air Force facility
that Kurds seized from Islamist rebels just days ago,
and at three other positions between the airport and Turkish
border," The
Independent reports.
"The air base has been a key target for several parties in the
Syrian civil war since 2012, being besieged by rebels for almost a
year until it was seized by a coalition including an early form of
Isis and the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra in August 2013 [and] it
remained in rebel hands until Thursday, when Kurdish PYD fighters
capitalised on the diversion caused by Bashar al-Assad’s forces and
Russian air strikes attacking rebel areas to the south to
seize Menagh."
PM
Davutoglu says the shelling was in line with "rules of
engagement."
DAILY SABAH
BREAKING - PM Davutoğlu: YPG targets in Syria have been hit in line with the rules of engagement
Mahir Zeynalov
"A
Kurdish official confirmed the shelling of Menagh air base in the
northern Aleppo countryside, which he said had been captured by the
Kurdish-allied Jaysh al-Thuwwar group rather than the Kurdish YPG
militia,"Reuters
says,
adding that
"Both are part of the Syria Democratic Forces
alliance." That group, you're reminded, was the subject of
intense scrutiny late last year as we documented in our classic piece
"Full
Metal Retard: US Launches "Performance-Based" Ammo Paradrop
Program For Make-Believe 'Syrian Arabs.'" It's
the same group the US has been paradropping weapons to.
To
sum up, Turkey is deliberately attempting to reverse gains made by
the US-backed Kurds in an area that is under siege by the Russians
and Iran. Or, more simply: utter chaos.
Here's
what happened according to pro-AKP (i.e. take it with a grain, or
maybe a whole shaker full of salt) Anadolu
Agency:
The Turkish military responded to an artillery attack on an army base close to the Syrian border on Saturday, a military source said. According to the unnamed source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media, the Akcabaglar base in Kilis province was shelled by the forces of the “PYD/PKK” -- referring to a Syrian Kurdish group and its affiliate PKK, which has waged war on Turkey since 1984.
The shelling came from Azaz in Aleppo province, which has been the scene of recent heavy fighting. Turkish forces reacted within rules of engagement that provide for an immediate response to any border threat, the source said. There was no further description of the form of response or detail on when the incident occurred.
In a separate incident, the army also responded to mortar fire from Syrian government troops on a Turkish police station in Calibogazi, Hatay province, at 2.55
Here are reports from Sputnik News
Turkish
Forces Shell Syrian Army Positions in Latakia - Source
A
military source said that Turkish armed forces shelled Syrian army
positions in the northern Syrian province of Latakia
13
February, 2016
ALEPPO
(Sputnik) – Turkish armed forces shelled Syrian army positions in
the northern Syrian province of Latakia, a military source told RIA
Novosti early Sunday.
"Turkish
artillery opened fire on the positions of the Syrian army in the Alia
hills region of northwest Latakia. Several shells have fallen from
Turkish territory," the unnamed source said.
Turkish
forces shelled Kurdish self-defense positions around the town of Azaz
in nearby Aleppo province earlier
Saudi Arabia to Send Jets to Turkish Base for Air Missions in Syria
Saudi
Arabia is deploying warplanes to the Turkish Incirlik base to fight
Daesh, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said
13 February, 2016
"They
(Saudi officials) came, did a reconnaissance of the base. At the
moment it is not clear how many planes will come," Foreign
Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by the Yeni
Safak and Haberturk newspapers after taking part in the
Munich Security Conference.
The
deployment is part of the US-led effort to defeat Daesh
terrorist group, he added. Incirlik is a key hub for US-led
coalition operations againstDaesh (ISIL/ISIS/IS).
The
Foreign Minister also said that Turkey and Saudi Arabia could launch
a ground operation against terrorists in Syria.
"If
there is a strategy (against Daesh) then Turkey and Saudi Arabia
could enter into a ground operation," Cavusoglu said.
"They
(Saudi Arabia) said 'If necessary we can also send troops'. Saudi
Arabia is showing great determination in the fight
against terror in Syria," he added.
Earlier
it was reported that Saudi Arabia was ready
to send its special forces
as part of US-led coalition.
Syria
has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with the
army loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting several opposition
factions and militant organizations, including Daesh terrorist group,
which is banned in a number of countries, including Russia
and the United States.
The
US-led coalition of some 60 nations, including Saudi Arabia
among others, has been launching airstrikes against Daesh
in Syria and Iraq since 2014. However, the operation
in Syria is conducted without the approval of the UN
Security Council or Syrian authorities
Turkish Forces Begin Shelling of Airbase Held by Kurds in Syria's Aleppo
Turkish
forces started shelling Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG]
postions on the territory of the Minnigh airbase in Syria's northern
Aleppo region, according to local media.
13 February, 2016
ALEPPO
(Sputnik) — Turkish forces have started shelling an airbase
and a village, recently captured by Kurds, in Syria's
northern Aleppo region, Al Mayadeen television reported Saturday.
"Turkish
forces started shelling People's Protection Units [YPG] postions
on the territory of the Minnigh airbase," an YPG
spokesperson told the channel.
The
airbase was captured by the Nusra Front militants in 2013.
Earlier this week, a militia source told RIA Novosti that the airbase
had been captured and the extremists have retreated.
Syrian
Kurds have been fighting against terrorists in Syria
for years and have already liberated vast Syrian territories
from their control.
Ankara
claims that Syrian Kurds have links to the Kurdistan Workers’
Party (PKK), a militant group fighting for Kurdish independence
from Turkey.
A
ceasefire between Turkey and PKK collapsed in July 2015,
prompting Turkish authorities to launch a military operation
in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern regions.
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