northern Syria

Millions of people in Northern Syria have been left without water following John McCain’s unexpected visit to the region last month.  Senator McCain made a secret visit to Northern Syria at the end of February, which was followed by a meeting with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to reports, McCain requested that Turkey shut down the supply of water going into Northern Syria as part of a plan to undermine Syrian President Assad. Mintpressnews.com reports: According to the Kurdish Hawar News Agency, Turkey cut water supplies to Syria around Feb.

Kurds in northern Syria plan to declare a federal region under their control as a way of encouraging Damascus to the idea of a more decentralized form of government in which all ethnic groups could have representation. A conference is to be held in Rmelan to declare the federation of three Western Kurdistan enclaves. Russia Today reports: Barzan Iso, a Kurdish journalist, has confirmed the news to RT. “Now the conference has just started in Rmelan, about 200 representatives of Rojava have joined [the event]. They represent different ethnicities and nationalities.

The United States is constructing two air bases in Kurdish-controlled northern Syria. One base is nearing finished being set up and another dual purpose military-civilian base is under construction, according to a Kurdish website. Reuters UK reports: The Erbil-based news website BasNews, quoting a military source in the Kurdish-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), said most of the work on a runway in the oil town of Rmeilan in Hasaka was complete while a new air base southeast of Kobani, straddling the Turkish border, was being constructed.

The NATO master plan for northern Syria in the next few weeks and months essentially features US, UK and Turkey fighter jets, with the French still in the balance (are we de facto collaborating with the Russians, or is it just posture?) This is being sold to global public opinion as a "coalition" effort -- with Russia barely mentioned.