Kurdish Forces Advance on Syrian Town of Tal Abyad and Turkey Reopens Borders for Fleeing Refugees

Thousands of civilians fled the northeastern Syrian town of Tal Abyad as Kurdish forces advanced against the Islamic State on Monday. The strategic city of Tal Abyad consists of control of a major southern supply route and helps the Kurdish forces connected with other key Syrian-Turkish border cities. Turkey has given permission to at least ...

Tal Abyad
Tal Abyad

Thousands of civilians fled the northeastern Syrian town of Tal Abyad as Kurdish forces advanced against the Islamic State on Monday. The strategic city of Tal Abyad consists of control of a major southern supply route and helps the Kurdish forces connected with other key Syrian-Turkish border cities.

Thousands of civilians fled the northeastern Syrian town of Tal Abyad as Kurdish forces advanced against the Islamic State on Monday. The strategic city of Tal Abyad consists of control of a major southern supply route and helps the Kurdish forces connected with other key Syrian-Turkish border cities.

Turkey has given permission to at least 400 refugees to enter Turkey through the Akcakale border crossing on Monday. At least 1,000 additional Syrian refugees are waiting behind barbed wire for permission to enter Turkey. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister, Numan Kurtulmus, stated, “We are of the opinion that there isn’t a humanitarian crisis in Tal Abyad, similar to Kobani or other regions in Syria,” cautioning that, “if Turkey accepts a new wave of refugees from Tal Abyad, it means that Turkey should be prepared for an influx of at least 100,000 refugees.”

Major U.S. Airstrikes in Libya Target Key Terrorist

The United States carried out an airstrike in Libya on Sunday against the key suspect of a major terrorist attack in Algeria that killed 38 hostages in 2013. The Libyan government issued a statement confirming the death of Mokhtar Belmokhtar, but the United States has yet to confirm, stating that forensic evidence is needed for a confirmation of his death.

Headlines

-Yemen’s Houthi-controlled capital in Sanaa was targeted by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes early Monday morning.

 

-Israel issued a report on Sunday corroborating that its troops adhered to international law during the Gaza War in 2014.

 

-The United States announced the transfer of six Yemeni detainees from Guantanamo Bay to Oman.

 

-A Lebanese and a Palestinian from Sidon, Lebanon were killed while fighting with the Islamic State in northern Syria.

 

MERS spreads to Saudi Arabia as five cases and one death are confirmed on Monday.

Arguments and Analysis

“Reasons Not to Dally in Iraq” (Michael O’Hanlon, Markaz, The Brookings Institution)

“Mr. Obama’s basic strategy in Iraq is not unsound. But poor and tepid implementation of even a good strategy can spell defeat. We need to do more than the minimal incrementalism, and step up our game in Iraq twofold or threefold in the coming months.”

 

“The Gulf States and Iran: Is Conflict Inevitable?” (Ismail Dbara, Fikra Forum, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy)

“Since the Saudi-led Arab coalition began its air campaign against the Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen last March, both the Arab Gulf states and Iran have adopted strong, sectarian rhetoric. But the hostile atmosphere between the Sunni Arab states and Shiite Iran should not cloud the political dimension of the current conflict, which is rooted in a struggle over interests. Both sides are spreading dangerous fallacies that sow the seeds of conflict.”

 

-Kyra Murphy

BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images

 

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