Turkey has been targeting and invading war-ravaged Kurdish majority regions of Syria and Iraq for many years now, killing hundreds and displacing thousands of people in complete violation of international laws

Turkey had carried out a similar invasion of northern Syria in October 2019 claiming to create a “safe zone” 30 km inside the Syrian border. The invasion had killed nearly 700 civilians and displaced over 300,000

Turkey, a NATO member, began its land and air invasion inside northern Iraq on April 17. It is targeting the forces of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Syrian YPG militia

Though the stated objective of this policy reversal is to prevent the Islamic State from gaining control over oil fields, it is being speculated that the real reason is to ensure that the Syrian government does not access these resources

As per the Russia-Turkey agreement, Russian and Turkish forces will jointly patrol the 120-km region between Ras al-Ain and Tal Abyad while Kurdish YPG units will move 30 km away from the border

The Turkish move on the border down of Manbij has raised the possibility of a direct confrontation with Syrian forces. Over 160,000 people have been displaced so far

If the Turkish army continues its push southwards, there is a chance of conflict breaking out between them and the Syrian army, which has advanced into the region

The attack by Turkey on the Kurdish forces in northeast Syria with the approval of the US has already led to the death of 14 civilians and threatens the councils, communes and self-managed cooperatives built as part of a multi-ethnic project in Rojava

Protesters condemned the offensive as yet another attempt by Turkish president Tayyip Erdoğan to suppress the struggles of Kurdish people.