Energy News
THE STANS
Turkey will help Syria against Kurdish fighters if asked: defence ministry

Turkey will help Syria against Kurdish fighters if asked: defence ministry

by AFP Staff Writers
Ankara (AFP) Jan 8, 2026

Turkey's military is ready to "support" Syria in its battle with Kurdish fighters in the northwestern city of Aleppo if Damascus asks for help, a defence ministry official said Thursday.

And Turkey's top diplomat said Ankara had been working "intensively" with Syrian and American officials in a bid to end the unrest.

Deadly clashes erupted this week between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Defence Forces (SDF) after the two sides failed to reach a year-end deadline to merge the Kurdish fighters into the main Damascus military.

In Ankara, the defence ministry official framed the clashes as a "counter-terror operation", saying Turkey fully backed "Syria's fight against terrorist organisations".

"Should Syria request assistance, Turkey will provide the necessary support," he said, echoing a long-standing offer by Ankara to extend military support to its allies in Damascus's new Islamist government.

Turkey has long been hostile to the Kurdish SDF that controls swathes of northeastern Syria, seeing it as an extension of the banned Kurdish militant group PKK and a major threat along its southern border.

It has repeatedly pushed for implementation of the so-called March 10 deal under which the Kurds' semi-autonomous administration and military would be integrated into the Syrian military and security apparatus.

The Kurds are pushing for decentralised rule, an idea which Syria's new authorities have rejected, blocking the deal's implementation and causing building tension.

- 'Uncompromising stance' -

The unrest in Aleppo began on Tuesday with a string of armed attacks that claimed nine lives and prompted thousands to flee, with the two sides trading barbs over who was responsible.

The toll now stands at 17 dead.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Turkey had been locked in talks with Damascus and Washington to resolve the deadlock which he blamed on the SDF's "uncompromising stance".

"Over the past two days, we have been involved in intensive consultations with the Syrian side and the Americans. God willing, this will be resolved without further bloodshed," he said.

"The SDF's insistence on preserving what it controls at any cost constitutes one of the greatest obstacles to Syrian peace and stability," he said, urging the force to "abandon terrorism and separatism".

Parliamentary speaker Numan Kurtulmus also warned against Israeli involvement in the standoff after its top diplomat denounced the government operation "against the Kurdish minority in Aleppo" as "dangerous" for Syria's minorities.

"Let me be very clear: Israel does not love the Kurds of Syria," Kurtulmus said, warning against efforts "to turn people against each other on ethnic, religious, and sectarian grounds".

Related Links
News From Across The Stans

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
THE STANS
Syrian Kurdish leader in Damascus for talks on military integration
Damascus (AFP) Jan 4, 2026
Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi was in Damascus on Sunday for fresh talks with officials on integrating his forces into those of the central military, the Kurds' armed forces said. Abdi signed a deal in March with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to merge the Kurds' semi-autonomous administration into the government by the end of 2025, but differences between the two sides have held up its implementation. "A delegation from the leadership of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is currently mee ... read more

THE STANS
Third COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation radar satellite enters service ramp-up

Alen Space begins SATMAR satellite validation over Bay of Algeciras

China geospatial information industry approaches 1 trillion yuan output

New NASA Sensor Goes Hunting for Critical Minerals

THE STANS
China tracks surge in geospatial information industry

When 5G networks bolster satellite navigation

LEO internet satellites bolster navigation where GPS is weak

Ancient 'animal GPS system' identified in magnetic fossils

THE STANS
Climate-driven tree deaths speeding up in Australia

Clearing small areas of rainforest has outsized climate impact: study

Indonesia to revoke 22 forestry permits after deadly floods

How deforestation turbocharged Indonesia's deadly floods

THE STANS
Biochar layer boosts hydrogen rich gas yields from corn straw

Beer yeast waste could provide scaffold for cultivated meat production

Garden and farm waste targeted as feedstock for new bioplastics

Carbon monoxide enables rapid atomic scale control for fuel cell catalysts

THE STANS
3D mapping shows how passivation boosts perovskite solar cells

3D printed solar cells bring color tuned power to windows and curved surfaces

Osmium dye boosts long wavelength solar hydrogen output

German renewable energy shift slowed in 2025

THE STANS
Trump gets wrong country, wrong bird in windmill rant

S.Africa seeks to save birds from wind turbine risks

Vertical wind turbines may soon power UK railways using tunnel airflow

THE STANS
Exodus fear in Greece's north as brown coal plants close

Global coal demand expected to hit record in 2025: IEA

South Africa's informal miners fight for their future in coal's twilight

South Africa's informal miners fight for their future in coal's twilight

THE STANS
China's birth-rate push sputters as couples stay child-free and pay contraceptive tax

Chinese homeschool students embrace freer youth in cutthroat market

Beijing slams 'forced demolition' of Chinese monument at Panama Canal

China executes former senior banker for taking $156 mn bribes

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.