Submitted by Burak Bekdil via The Gatestone Institute,
Washington should think more than twice about allowing Turkey and Saudi Arabia, its Sunni allies, militarily to engage their Shiite enemies in Syria. Allowing Sunni supremacists into a deeper sectarian war is not a rational way to block Russian expansion in the eastern Mediterranean. And it certainly will not serve America's interests.
Turkey have open-fired on Kurdish YPG militia and Russian troops operating within the Syrian-Turkish border, as military tensions escalates between Russia and Turkey in Syria. Turkey have asked the United States for military assistance in a ground operation as Russian troops advance closer to its borders. Thestar.com.my reports: A large-scale joint ground operation is still unlikely: Washington has ruled out a major offensive. But the request shows how swiftly a Russian-backed advance in recent weeks has transformed a conflict that has drawn in most regional and global powers.
Israel are claiming that Hezbollah are now able to shoot down Israeli jets flying over parts of the Middle East. According to an IDF source, Russia’s presence in Syria has given Hezbollah the ability to shoot down Israeli planes. Uprooted Palestinians reports: Those same IDF sources estimate that the increased Hezbollah provocations are the result of the tightening relationship between Russia and Hezbollah, as part of the campaign against ISIS in Syria.
Turkey shelled Syria for a fourth consecutive day on Tuesday as Ankara steps up efforts to bolster rebels in the face of an advance by the Kurdish YPG. “As many as 150 terrorists were killed during the 4-day-long shelling targeting PYD points,” the pro-government Yeni Safak wrote today, adding that “the PYD, backed by both the US and Russia, is working with President Bashar al-Assad to control areas along the Turkish border.”
The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has backed a controversial call by Turkey to impose a no-fly zone over northern Syria. She said it would help alleviate the refugee crisis: “In the current situation it would be helpful, if there could be such an area, where none of the parties are allowed to launch aerial attacks, that is to say, a kind of no-fly zone“ Turkish President Erdogan threatened Europe with a new migrant wave renewing calls for no-fly zone in Syria just days ago.