The past week has seen the most significant uptick in Turkish aggression for many months, With Kurdish regions stretching for hundreds of kilometres targeted in a massive and coordinated operation of dozens of airstrikes, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan renewing his threats to launch a full-scale ground invasion of Kurdish-led North and East Syria (NES) ahead of a potentially crucial meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers this week, it is clear the balance of power in the region is in flux.
On Monday 28 November, Medya News will convene an online panel via Twitter Spaces to bring together expert voices to analyse the latest developments, whether now is the time that President Erdoğan will make his next move to seize and occupy swathes of land in NES, and how he is benefiting from shifts in the regional geopolitical reality.
We will hear from regional experts including journalist and commentator Frederike Geerdink, director of research at the Kurdish Peace Institute Meghan Bodette, diplomatic committee member of the Kurdistan National Congress Adem Uzun, and key on-the-ground source the Rojava Information Centre. Other expert opinions and contributions from the floor will be welcomed in the course of the discussion which starts at 7PM CET, and is being moderated by freelance journalist Matt Broomfield.
The situation in NES has reached a critical turning-point. A recent terror attack in Istanbul has served as a casus belli for a new aerial Turkish operation against the region, despite lack of evidence as to who is responsible. Turkey’s latest wave of deadly airstrikes against Kurdish-led NES resulted in more than two dozen casualties including a journalist and multiple civilians, hitting civilian targets including a power station, a grain silo and a coronavirus hospital along with military bases belonging to the SDF and the Syrian Arab Army. President Erdoğan has once again threatened a Syrian ground operation ‘as soon as possible’, likely against the cities of Manbij and Kobane, key multiethnic population centres in the west of the region.
Analysts believe President Erdoğan is seeking to profit from his country’s enhanced role on the global stage given this year’s developments in Ukraine. Turkey is a key NATO member – the strategically-located country has the security alliance’s largest army save only for the USA itself – and simultaneously enjoys warm relations with Vladimir Putin’s Russia. This enables President Erdoğan to seek concessions from both major powers in the conflict, offering his country’s military, economic and diplomatic support in return for permission to attack the Kurds. The recent US midterm elections may also have reduced the Biden government’s ability or willingness to counter Turkish agression against their nominal allies in the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
To understand the situation on the ground and how it ties in to the rapidly-evolving geopolitical context, please join Medya News and our guests via the link below at 7PM CET on Monday 28 November.
Event link: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1zqKVPoOoMwJB.
