World

The Crisis In Northern Syria: Your Questions, Answered

WAMU 88.5

Published October 15, 2019 at 9:06 AM CDT

Turkish troops drive their US-made M60 tanks and armoured personnel carriers as they and Turkey-backed fighters drive through the village of Qirata on the outskirts of the northern city of Manbij near the Turkish border. Turkey wants to create a roughly 30-kilometre (20-mile) buffer zone along its border to keep Kurdish forces at bay and also to send back some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees it hosts.

Kurds in northern Syria plan to switch their alliances following President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw all American troops from northern Syria.

Now, Kurdish leaders are looking for support from the Syrian regime of Bashir al-Assad, who are largely aligned with Russian and Iranian forces.

U.S. troops were supporting Kurdish forces in the region as part of America’s push to combat the Islamic State in that region.

The Kurds run detention facilities for over 11,000 ISIS fighters and camps for their children and families.

However, the withdrawal of American forces in the region has caused Turkey to begin attacking Kurds in Syria.

What does the switch in Kurdish allegiances mean for the stability of the region?

Produced by Stacia Brown.

GUESTS

Missy Ryan, Pentagon reporter, The Washington Post; @missyryan

Mike Giglio, Staff writer at The Atlantic, author, “Shatter the Nations: ISIS and the War for the Caliphate;” @mikegiglio

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