Turkey has two demands from US for support in Manbij operation: Sources

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Turkey has demanded Syrian Arab tribes to leave Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and asked the U.S. to increase its air strikes for groups Turkey supports, in exchange for helping the U.S.-led anti-ISIL coalition during an assault on the jihadist group in the Manbij region.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan negotiated hard terms with U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden last week in Washington, where he was attending the Nuclear Security Summit, Turkish sources said.

The U.S. has asked for Turkey’s support to take back Manbij, which lies at the southeastern end of the 98-kilometer border Turkey shares with Syria that is controlled by ISIL. Turkey in return put forth two demands.

Erdoğan first demanded that the Syrian Arab tribes to be included in the Manbij operation leave the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is under the control of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), and undergo “background checks."

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-has-two-demands-from-us-for-support-in-manbij-operation-sources-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=97246&NewsCatID=352

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1. Erdoğan ‘saddened’ over Obama’s press freedom rebuke

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has expressed his discontent with U.S. President Barack Obama's light criticism of eroding press freedoms in Turkey.

“I have been saddened that this kind of statement has been made in my absence. These issues did not come up on the agenda in our meeting with Mr. Obama,” Erdoğan told a group of journalists on April 2, as he was wrapping up a visit to the U.S. capital where he attended the Nuclear Security Summit.

Obama met Erdoğan in Washington for closed door talks on March 31. As of April 1, Obama said it was “no secret” he was troubled by “some trends” within Turkey.

“I think the approach they have been taking toward the press is one that could lead Turkey down a path that would be very troubling,” he said, speaking to reporters at the conclusion of the Nuclear Security Summit.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/erdogan-saddened-over-obamas-press-freedom-rebuke.aspx?PageID=238&NID=97234&NewsCatID=510

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2. Assad forces seize key ISIS bastion in central Syria

DAMASCUS - Syrian troops on Sunday seized the key Islamic State group bastion of Al-Qaryatain, dealing the jihadists a new blow in the country's centre a week after expelling them from Palmyra, state television said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group however said fighting was still raging in the east and southeast of the town, which is located in the desert in Homs province.

"The army with backing from supporting forces (pro-regime militia) brings back complete security and stability to the town of Al-Qaryatain, after crushing Daesh terrorists' last remaining positions there," state television said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.

But the Britain-based Observatory said the army was still fighting the jihadists in about half the town.

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=76129

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3. President al-Assad to RIA Novosti and Sputnik: We have the will to clean Syria completely of terrori

Damascus, SANA – President Bashar al-Assad said in the third part of the interview he gave to the Russian news agencies RIA Novosti and Spuntik that a number of countries which are supposed to be concerned with fighting terrorism, or part of the US-led coalition to fight terrorism, have not announced their position regarding the liberation of Palmyra.

He added that the occupation of Palmyra by terrorists less than a year ago was evidence of the failure of the coalition and that it is not serious about fighting terrorism, particularly fighting IS.

The following is the full text of the third part of the interview:

Question 1: Mr. President, there is no doubt that liberating Palmyra made international headlines; and in my view, it hasn’t been fully understood yet. it’s significant that it happened after a major part of the Russian military forces was withdrawn from your country. How did that happen, and what are the other cities you intend to move to?

President Assad: Yes, it hasn’t been understood. It is true that some people in the world have understood it, but they don’t want to believe it. Now, two days after Palmyra had been liberated, a number of countries which are supposed to be concerned with fighting terrorism, or part of the US-led coalition to fight terrorism, have not announced their position regarding the liberation of Palmyra. And I want to be clear: first of all, we haven’t heard anything from the French and British regimes. We haven’t heard any comment; and there are reasons for that. First, the occupation of Palmyra by terrorists less than a year ago was evidence of the failure of the coalition and that it is not serious about fighting terrorism, particularly fighting IS.
As to how we were able to do it, simply, we have the will to clean Syria completely of terrorists. This is not subject to any discussion, and there are no choices for protecting Syria if we do not fight terrorism, of course in parallel to the political process. But fighting terrorism is essential. So, we have the will, the Syrian people have the will, and the Syrian Army is determined to liberate every region.

At the same time, the support of our friends, the Russian support, was essential and effective in producing that outcome. The support of our Iranian friends and Hezbollah was important too. There are also other groups fighting with the Syrian Army. Of course, after liberating Palmyra, we should move to the surrounding areas which lead to the eastern region, like the city of Deir Ezzour. And at the same time, we will start working on moving towards the city of Raqqa, which is now the main stronghold of IS terrorists.

http://sana.sy/en/?p=73547

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4. Alawite leaders distance themselves from Assad – reports

Leaders of the Syrian president’s Alawite branch of Islam are reportedly distancing themselves from his government, according to Britain’s Sunday Telegraph. The newspaper cites a document purportedly circulated by the religious leaders, smuggled out of Syria and shown to a handful of journalists including some working for the BBC.

Meanwhile, speaking to Russian news agencies RIA Novosti and Sputnik, President Assad has vowed to keep fighting terrorism.

“There is no alternative to protect Syria if we do not fight terrorism,” said Assad according to a euronews translation. “At the same time there is of course the political process. But the fight against terrorism remains essential. This is the intention of the people and the army. The army is determined to free all territories. Russia’s support has been essential for this success. But there was also help from our friends: Iran and Hezbollah from Lebanon contributed to the military success.”

http://www.euronews.com/2016/04/03/alawite-leaders-distance-themselves-from-assad-reports/

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7. Alleged declaration of identity reform (translation):

http://www.welt.de/pdf/1085/Declaration.pdf

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8. Leaders of Syrian Alawite sect threaten to abandon Bashar al-Assad

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria is facing a new challenge as a group of religious leaders from his powerful Alawite sect circulates a document demanding a change in its relationship to the regime and "dissociating" itself from his leadership.

The document, which its authors claim has been circulated to a significant number of Alawite sheikhs or religious leaders in Syria, was smuggled out of the country amid extreme secrecy and shown to The Sunday Telegraph and a handful of other European journalists.

Some of its authors have also briefed European governments on its contents.

However, it is unclear how much support it is likely to have on the ground.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/02/leaders-of-syrian-alawite-sect-threaten-to-abandon-bashar-al-ass/

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5. Al-Qaryatain: Isis fighters 'wiped out' as Syrian army reclaims key Christian city

The Syrian army has reportedly reclaimed control of another major city after driving out the Isis militant group, following the successful capture of the ancient city of Palmyra last Sunday.

State TV reports said the strategically significant town of al-Qaryatain, once home to a sizeable Christian population, was under complete regime control on Sunday afternoon and the army had “fully restored security and stability after wiping out the last remaining Daesh terrorists”.

Those reported were not immediately verified by monitoring groups, with the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights suggesting fighting was still going on.

But they did note that the hills surrounding al-Qaryatain were controlled by the Syrian army and that regime troops now occupied at least half the city itself.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/al-qaryatain-isis-fighters-wiped-out-as-syrian-army-reclaims-key-christian-city-a6966166.html

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6. . nt

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9. How long can President Erdogan survive?

There seems to be no limit to what Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan thinks he is permitted to do. When Western diplomats attended the trial of two Turkish journalists accused of espionage – that is, reporting Turkey’s arms traffic to Syrian jihadists, Erdogan lashed out at them.

However, as US State Department spokesman John Kirby retorted: “This was not only not the first time, but it darn sure won’t be the last time that we observe these kinds of judicial proceedings.” The German ambassador has also defended his attendance at the trial and the Italian Foreign Ministry has pointed out its consul general behaved in full compliance with the Vienna Convention on diplomatic and consular relations.

Irrespective of Turkey’s deal with the EU to stop mass immigration, there is widespread disenchantment with Turkey under Erdogan’s rule, which is a marked contrast to the euphoria his AK (Justice and Development) Party was met with when it first came to power in 2002. On his visit to Turkey in 2009 US President Barack Obama proclaimed that Turkey and the US could build “a model partnership”, but in the latest issue of The Atlantic Obama revealed the depth of his disillusion when he called Turkey’s president “a failure and an authoritarian”.

Nevertheless, because of the key role played by Turkey in the Middle East, Obama kept up appearances and met with Erdogan on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington to discuss security issues. In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour Erdogan maintained he was not at war with the press and was open to criticism. Yet when Erdogan spoke at the Brookings Institution his bodyguards manhandled two critical Turkish journalists and tried to prevent one of them from attending the event.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/how-long-can-president-erdogan-survive-a6966331.html

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10. Turkey runs risk of losing control of southern border

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During the two years of peace talks, Kurdish forces primarily focused their fight against ISIL. The PKK units in Qandil were mostly sent throughout northern Iraq to bolster the western-backed and Turkish-allied Peshmerga forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government. In Syria, the YPG was the main force able to contain and push back the jihadist forces.

Now, as conflict ignites in south-east Turkey, PKK forces in Iraq are prepared to expand the fight against Turkey instead of ISIL. The YPG may still be primarily engaged in a battle with ISIL but it has also been distracted by Turkish shelling and its decisions to seize territory from Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army rebels in Aleppo under cover of Russian bombing.

ISIL-linked attacks in Turkey and Europe have only increased amid the devastation created by Kurdish militants bombing the heart of Ankara and the destruction caused by Turkish shells landing on the town of Cizre or across the border in Azaz.

The ability to fight ISIL and other takfiri groups on the front lines in Syria and Iraq is clearly hampered by the expanding conflict between Turkey and the Kurds.

http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/turkey-runs-risk-of-losing-control-of-southern-border