Erdogan says Turkey has no business in Syria's Manbij if YPG militia leaves

[TU Curmudgeon]

From Reuters

Erdogan says Turkey has no business in Syria's Manbij if YPG militia leaves
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ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey will have nothing left to do in the Syrian town of Manbij once “terrorist organizations” leave the area, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday, hours after the Syrian army said it had entered the town.

Turkey has threatened an assault on Manbij to drive out the Kurdish YPG militia, which it regards as a terrorist group. Erdogan signaled on Friday that Turkey was not in a hurry to carry out the operation.

“In the current situation, we are still supporting the integrity of Syrian soil. These areas belong to Syria. Once the terrorist organizations leave the area, we will have nothing left to do there,” Erdogan told reporters after Friday prayers in Istanbul.

Earlier on Friday, the Syrian army said it had entered Manbij for the first time in years, after the YPG urged Damascus to protect the town from the threat of Turkish attacks.

COMMENT:-

And the Turkish government statement equally says that Turkey DOES have some business in Manbji if the YPG DOES NOT leave.

In short, the Turks have just told the Kurds to get out of town (which means relocating to a place where they won't be any bother to the Turks) or else.

This, of course, does pose a slight problem for the Kurds because since

• the Syrians don't want them,
• the Iranians don't want them,
• the Jordanians don't want them,
• the Israelis don't want them,
• the Iraqis don't want them,
• the Turks don't want them, and
• the Americans don't want them,

their options are sort of limited.
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