As its “one nations, two states” adjunct Azerbaijan has been doing in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Al-Monitor
April 27, 2022

Turkey may ‘lock’ borders with Syria and Iraq to deal with Kurdish militants

…Turkey’s military operations in Iraq and Syria point to an integrated approach in the northern strips of the two countries. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Ankara lists as a terrorist group, has long maintained bases in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan along the border, and is linked to armed Kurdish groups in both Syria and Iraq.

In Syria….Turkish-controlled buffers and pockets have emerged at depths of 30 to 40 kilometers, with the M4 highway becoming a de facto frontier. While operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch targeted areas to the west of the Euphrates, Operation Peace Spring in 2019 sought to extend the Turkish-controlled border strip east of the river all the way to the Iraqi border, but Turkey had to make do with controlling the Tell Abyad and Ras al-Ain areas only.

Yet, the recent increase in Turkish attacks against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), taking advantage of Russia’s preoccupation with Ukraine, show that Ankara is bent on its “safe zone” plan.

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The growing number and permanence of Turkish bases [in Iraq] has fueled political wrangling in Baghdad. During an April 24 parliamentary debate, Iraq’s First Deputy Parliament Speaker Hakim al-Zamili urged the foreign minister to explain what measures Iraq had taken against the attacks and clarify claims about an agreement allowing Turkish forces to advance 30 kilometers into Iraq.

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Besides targeting the PKK’s camps along the border, Turkey has repeatedly hit targets in Sinjar, some 160 kilometers away, as well as Makhmour, 218 kilometers south of the border, employing F-16 jets and armed drones.