Erdogan: US should choose between Turkey, Kurdish forces

[bemildred]

18. Turkey's triple disaster

As if the housing of 2.5 million Syrian refugees, a dangerous escalation with Russia, and jitters over a string of Kurdish victories on its southern border were not enough, Turkey woke to another nightmare this week as thousands of Syrians massed at the Turkish border.

The new exodus is a result of the surprisingly swift advance of Russian-backed regime forces towards Aleppo this week. Aided by an intense Russian air campaign, forces loyal to Syrian president Bashar el-Assad were able to break the three-year rebel siege of Shia villages Nubul and Zahra and encircle Syria’s second largest city, Aleppo. While no longer the bustling commercial centre that it once was, Aleppo and the surrounding villages are still home to half a million Syrians and remain the nerve centre for Syrian opposition activity.

Overnight, 20,000 Syrians had fled to the Bab al-Salam (Öncüpinar) border crossing on Friday, with Turkish and United Nations officials predicting tens of thousands more to come if the fighting in Aleppo intensifies.

While Turkey has not yet allowed in the new wave of refugees, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu pledged on Friday that Turkey would not leave them without food or shelter. Turkish government aid agencies are scrambling to build capacity, identify vacancies in existing refugee camps in the area and provide a registration system for the newcomers. Plans are underway to open the border crossing on Monday, which incidentally coincides with a snap visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Ankara to discuss the joint action plan on refugees between Turkey and the European Union.

http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_turkeys_triple_disaster5086