this i s "nightline." tonight, dissent into chaos on the front lines of the syrian border. the desperate cries for help. now the devastating human toll of the turkish onslaught on the people. and after a warrior falls, one family's promise to keep fighting. plus, first wives club. revenge gets a reboot. the cult classic comedy, coming alive again. now new leading ladies, leading the way with a little help from their friends. >> it's people who lift you up th n keep closest to you. >> put it on a magnet. this one, i can't, but i do.

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it's game day live here a fan favorite venue ever since they got gig speed internet. xfinity gives them the ultimate home field advantage, it's their twelfth man, protector- hey, amy? want to grab a seat? julie. we're live. it's game on, with gig speed internet from xfinity. start him, sit him, trade him. simple, easy, awesome. check out gig-speed internet, or any of our other amazing speed options. get started now for as low as $29.99 a month for 12 months. click, call or visit a store today. good evening. thanks for joining us. tonight, two american allies, locked in a deadly clash in a part of syria once largely spared. now being ravaged by war. it's a fight for control, and one for survival, after the u.s.

abruptly pulled out. tonight a look at the human toll of the turkish onslaught on the kurds. here's ian pannell reporting from the region. >> reporter: no one should suffer this pain. certainly not an 8-year-old child. it's three days since the artillery shell exploded, changing sarah's life forever. how is she doing? [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: we're here in syria, a country engulfed b cons

largely spared until last week. today the winds of war are howling. american troops are leaving, with a growing humanitarian crisis in their wake. sarah's devastated family say she's only just realized the full horror of what's happened. the explosion ripped off her leg. her little girl so fond of dressing up and posing for the camera, it's a devastating moment. even worse, the blast killed her big brother mohammad. he was just 13. from a hospital bed, sarah clings to her this isrother. well. he tried to revive his brother.

hey, hey, it's you want to know what the impact of this war is? that's it. families grieving. kids torn apart while they're playing in the street. an entire population helpless, and abandoned. the family kept imploring us, can you help? there's no prosthetic limb, there's no treatment, they have no more money. and we're right up near the border with turkey. this area could be occupied very, very soon. it won't be a question whether she can get anymore treatment but whether they can get out alive. it's only been ten days since president trump maid the sudden decision to withdraw americans from the northern syrian border. we are learning it was only 28 u.s. troops holding the line between peace and war. that decision opened the door for turkey mity campaign against kurdish forces

here. the united states is allied with both sides. turkey is an important nato member. the kurdish military has been america's most reliable partner in the war against isis. they've done most of the fighting and almost all of the dying, but turkey sees them as terrorists and vows to force them out of the area. two years ago i was here in sh to retake the city of raqqah, the former capital of the isis caliphate. we're moving forward with the fighters of the ypg. these are the fighters that the u.s. coalition is working with. they are the foot soldiers. we're moving up to their forward base. and it was here we met a young leader in the ypg, a mainly-kurdish fighting force. [ speaking in foreign language ] her team cleared the city, street by street, building by

building, death always just a step away. more than 11,000 kurdish men and women died in the war. one of them salsdar. she was killed in an isis ambush just hours after we left her. her grief-stricken family left behind to mourn. we went in search of her family and found them. hello, hello, hello. hi. lovely to meet you. thank you very much. look at this. a shrine to salsdar. she was the eldest of nine children. her sister, nila, a beautiful mirror image of her. [ speaking in foreign

salsdar's mission is one her familiar shri ca family is carrying on. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: we showed them our "nightline" special where salsdar was our guide on the front line. in a community, salsdar leads the fighters. [ speaking in foreign language ]

>> reporter: for years, he and his soldiers depended on american support and air power. russia's now filling the void left by america, helping the syrian military to back the kurds, who are now aligning with bashar al assad's regime, accused of war crimes against its own people. [ speaking in foreign language ]

>> reporter: they took us to salsdar's grave. marked sehid, it these are the people we met, all the other young volunteers. this young man was one helping us run through the streets to help us avoid isis sniper fire. what would salsdar be thinking today about what is happening right now? [ speaking in foreign language ]

>> reporter: now the white house is deflecting blame and calling for a cease-fire. >> our soldiers are not in harm's way, as they shouldn't be. as two countries fight over land. that has nothing to do with us. >> reporter: president trump announced sanctions against turkey on monday. and tomorrow vice president mike pence and secretary of state mike pompeo will meet with turkey's president erdogan to broker a deal. >> america is simply not going to tolerate turkish invasion of syria any further. and we're calling on syria to stand down, to end the violence and come to the negotiating table. >> reporter: but erdogan is defiant. saying he won't sign a cease-fire. his tanks and troops now crossing the border and advancing on the

mimbig. but graphic footage offshoots of al qaeda. like the death of a leader who was dragged from her car and shot 23 times. if verified, this is a war crime. as is the targeting of civilians. the kurdish military gave us this video of a convoy packed with people they say was hit by a turkish airstrike. bodies and lives shredded in an instant. my friend from the bbc's just said that all pulling out toward the border right now. i think we need to leave. the line between allies and enemies is moving dangerously fast, but not everyone has the option to seek safer ground. this is personal. this is, these are people you know. these are neighbors. these are friends.

and you don't get to leave. >> this is my job. i will just stay here. i didn't tell my parent that i'm here, because they will be so afraid. >> reporter: do you have a plan? >> we don't have any plans. >> reporter: neither does the family of that little girl in the hospital who lost her leg. sarah's father says he wants to leave their shattered home and the neighborhood that used to be safe. but there's nowhere to go. thank you, sir, i'm so you're in the middle of this part of the world in the middle of all this and someone comes out and office you hospitality. the next is on keeping sarah alive, distracting her from the pain. because the youngest suffer the most when men make war. for "nightline," ian pannell in northern syria. >> our thanks to ian and his team on the ground for that harrowing report.

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they're a band of best friends, united as lovers spernsper spurned and out for sweet revenge. it's getting a reboot with fresh stars giving it a fresh look. >> reporter: the iconic feminist

anthem brought to life in "the first wives club" recently given new life in a series with the same name with a noticeable distinction. all of the leading ladies are women of color. the first wives club reboot stares ryan did you talk to any of them in preparation for your role? >> in my mind, every day. i would love to, if you're watching. >> yes, do you want to meet us? we would love to meet you. ♪ can you hear me >> bette midler you're the wind beneath my wings.

>> reporter: they come together to overcome major struggles. traded in for younger women. >> my, my, the bulimia certainly has paid off. >> reporter: another searching to find her voice. yet through their bond as best friends, they come out stronger. a theme repeated in the reprisal. >> no, that is not life. we've got to start living our lives for ourselves. >> we are amazing. >> reporter: in the series, hazel's marriage crumbles in a very public and embarrassing way. >> i knew derrick was cheating. >> and the only thing you did was throw out your phone? >> reporter: she leans on her girlfriends. the mastermind, tracy oliver, knows a thing or two about strong women. she was the creator of "girls trip." how did this whole project get

started? >> it was right after "girls trip" came out and paramount reached out and said have you seen "the first wives club" movie? and i'm like, are you serious? of course i've seen it. so it was like fate. >> reporter: her tributes to the original are sprinkled throughout the series like the iconic window washing scene. when you saw that they were bringing back that scene, were you like, oh, my gosh, we're really doing this? >> yeah. >> i knew there was going to be a party at some point and like my own anxiety was like don't drop something on your white dress. >> all of the easter eggs were fun. >> with the help of my true friends, i realized i was more than enough. >> oh, yeah, if you're a fan of the movie, you will see in every single episode something. and i'm actually surprised that super fans on twitter are already seeing some of those things.

>> reporter: the original was set in 1996. now more than 20 years later the social contrasts are glaring, with very different representations of women in so-called mid-life. >> that is exactly why hazel rochelle has her own personal glam squad. >> oh, my god, i'm getting a makeover. >> i wanted to keep them in their 40s but keep them fresh and sexy and fun. they're going to date and be out on the streets and go to clubs and liven it up. we're going to show people that even after 40 you can have fun and be beautiful and sex eye y gorgeous. >> reporter: with diversity on-screen and off. >> it's a dream. when i was first starting off in the business i didn't get those opportunities. i used to write about women of color and then i would have people say to me, you're a good writer but this will never get

made because no one wants to see that story or no one's going to buy that story. >> all of our directors were women. and because it was an all-black cast it felt amazing that there was nobody that was just the funny friend that came on and was like, i'm all the tokens in one, you know. >> reporter: on the show and in real life these women owned that message, putting a spotlight on the essential power of sisterhood. what do you hope the take away message is? >> you got to laugh to keep from cryin'. there's room for the tears but it's like, okay, girl e let's get up. >> yeah, that's what friends are for. >> i hope everybody realizes it's the friends who lift you up sosre nu need to keep closest to > a hero getting a surprise up next. breathe freely fast, with vicks sinex.

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