our proxy was the pkk. our forces on the ground, the department of defense became the representative of the pkk to turkey. this is -- one of the reasons why the people who are arguing against what's the turkish intervention or outraged by our sink in but we are on the other side, we come america, are on the other side and, therefore, you should feel comfortable with t. it's the fact we are over there made it so untenable to the turks. because we elevated a little splinter extremist organization of a minority and put it on the same level as ally and begin mediating back-and-forth in representing the turkey the positions of the pkk. so while we're using our power umbrella and then representing nterest to turkey, us the greatest power on earth and turkey's greatest ally. that was absolutely untenable to the turks. here's no possible way they were ever going to accept that. that pkk, the ypg on the ground, rejected any notion of power-sharing in their area. they hate -- they hate the krg. these guys, the ypg, t

0ur olive branch operation also targeted by ypg/pkk.rn side of the river. but now it's changed. now it's changed. you know why? what has changed is because the syrian kurds are now in alliance with damascus, with arab syrian forces and russia. not because of that. now the reactions are as we see more negative, because some of the countries are allies including france. they been trying to divide syria and to create a terrorist state in that part. butjust sticking to the point of how the dynamics have changed, the russians have said very explicityl, the special envoy for syria for moscow, alexander lavrentiev, that it would simply be unacceptable and would not allow it, of course for the syrians, and the turkish troops to engage in any kind of military intervention. it seems like it's russia that's really determining what is going on on the ground. russia is also promising us that there will be no pkk or ypg allowed in other side of the border and president putin invited president erdogan to sochi, and we will be going there on the 22nd o

of the pkk.that would put them under sanctions with the pkk, listed as a foreign terrorist organization and that would prohibit any support from the united states. i wouldn't see them being in a merger with pkk. and i'll leave the first question to mike. >> just in terms of the pressure that the cards in northeastern syria are coming under erdogan,, is it in help of any kind of settlement between the? >> great question i would just note, i think the real scenario now we're watching is with the ypg go to the site not a merger with the pkk but assad and by extension russia and iran. what happens when you of this force at work so close with use military all of a sudden having to cooperate with the regime and its russian at arena a ring ald maybe being at the mercy? that's an interesting question to ask now as well, and also i do think if that were to happen, if the assad government is to retake control of these areas, what you would certainly see us into ypg members who are pkk historically, maybe r

well, pkk way fiji isa like to tell you? well, pkk way fiji is a terrorist organisation causing a third to our national security and therefore the aim of this operation to eliminate the terrorists at the other side of the border or clear this area from the terrorists. also oui’ this area from the terrorists. also our operation is aiming to enforce the territorial integrity of syria and this terrorist organisation is aiming to divide the country. syrian territory integrity is so important for our region and we are very much committed to that. and we also need to liberate local people from the oppression of this terrorist organisation and also we should lay the ground for the voluntary and safe return of the refugees displaced people, not on the refugees from turkey but idp is in syria and refugees who had to flee to iraqi or other neighbouring countries. so you set up what you wa nt to countries. so you set up what you want to do at the idea is to create a zone of turkish influence which is 400 kilometres long and 32 kilometr

that is the syrian kurdish party, which is affiliated with the pkk, which is affiliated with the pkk,ried about terror, just why are in syria. 0k. about terror, just why are in syria. ok. so peter westmore got, what is your response to that question? two points. first of all, i do think that turkey does manage to get its view point across. we have had a lot of meetings between, for example, the president of iran, the president of russia and the president of turkey, coming together to try to find a political solution to the problems there. we have also seen regular telephone communications between, for example, the president of the united states and the president of turkey. so turkey is a player and i don't think turkey should feel it is somehow not being listened to. the second point is just to say that it is difficult. this is why we are having these conversations at the moment. syria needs a political solution which ends the slaughter and finds a solution for that country which ensures solution for that country which e nsu res every solution for that country which ensures every ethn

pkk leader zagros hiwa speaking to aleem maqbool.o come: wimbledon champion simona halep and elina svitolina in action in the wta finals in shenzhen, and more, in our sport briefing. indira gandhi, ruler of the world's largest democracy, died today. 0nly yesterday she'd spoken of dying in the service of her country and said, "i would be proud of it. every drop of my blood would contribute to the growth of this nation". after 46 years of unhappiness, these two countries have concluded a chapter of history. no more suspicion, no more fear, no more uncertainty of what each day might bring. booster ignition and lift—off of discovery, with a crew of six astronaut heroes and one american legend. well, enjoying the show is right. this is beautiful. a milestone in human history. born today, this girl in india is the 7 billionth person on the planet. you're watching the briefing. 0ur headlines: britain's prime ministerfails to get mps to agree to hold a general election. he'll try again later today. that's with a different method. wildfires i

he is not the pkk. he is against the pkk.urkey and relying on tu rkey‘s working with turkey and relying on turkey's economic so that means turkey's economic so that means turkey is not genuine. it doesn't necessarily mean that it means that turkey and iraq may be different. the spectra of this point, clearly, we kurds pid and all the kurdish political movement, in syria, we are a syrian, we have our own relationship, we have a relationship with ok dp, the regional government, we have the same kurdish relationships and we consider all of the other cool —— per political parties and other parts of the right, a run, turkey is kurdish movements. here are some faxes of the facts are that the y pg that is the facts are that the y pg that is the military wing of your own party, the military wing of your own party, the y pg group inside katie syria has in the past unfurled banners and posters during its operations, showing the imprisoned founder of the pkk, here is anotherfocus of the pkk, here is anotherfocus of the director of natio

does the sdf and the pkk, do the all want the same thing?ppening now here. i am waiting for a new dialogue between the syrian government and the syrian kurds there as well. the rather talk about ontology and independence is a step forward, but they're not doing it. talking to a new person just now, seeing them as rivals, working with syrian rebels in this great offensive has just started and those rebels are often against the president. help us understand how those things fit together. it is a very complex tale, turkey was always opposing from the very beginning uprising against asad's presence. isis, seeing kurdish militants have been strong and significant ally to the us in the fight against isis. some other sunni militant groups still fight against the president. but now, the main goal is, the used to bea but now, the main goal is, the used to be a presence there years ago during the bouts of government. so the turkish government accuses the syrian militants to change this demography and destabilising the social fabric of this region. tha

he's not the pkk. he's against the pkk.key's economy so that means turkey is not genuine. well, it doesn't necessarily mean that, it means that turkey and iraq may be different. crosstalk. let's be clear at this point, clearly, we kurds, pyd and all the kurdish political movement, in syria, we are a syrian, we have our own relationship, we have equal relationship with kdp, kurdish regional government, we have the same kurdish talibani and barzani and we consider all of the other kurdish political parties and different parts of iraq, iran, turkey, as kurdish movements. mr semo, here are some facts. the facts are that the ypg that is the military wing of your own party, the ypg group inside kurdish syria has in the past unfurled banners and posters during its operations, showing abdullah 0calan, the imprisoned founder of the pkk. here is another fact, of the director of national intelligence in the united states back in 2018 said of your ypg, he said, "the ypg is a syrian militia wing of the kurdistan workers party, that is t

the pkk, this is the pkk media outlet organisation, and the pkk killed 37 ak party officers, kurds, killingnewspapers orjournals, supporting that party and those newspapers or journals, they supporting that party and those newspapers orjournals, they are making propaganda for that and for that reason some of these organisations were shut down, including pro— pkk sources and the four tula terror organisation behind the coup d'etat of 2015. they are all terrorists, notjournalists, because there are 250 —— 150. all terrorists, notjournalists, because there are 250 -- 150. it's not the most democratic country in the world. the pro for chula or they showed the targets, the hit list of the pkk on their front pages. when you say terrorists, not journalists. you work on independent media platforms, what is your response? of course turkey has legitimate security concerns and we are all united in that. for example, for my part, the koop attempt was a big shock and i never thought i would see that in my lifetime. i thought that period of turkey's history was over for good but it didn't turn out to be

given the pkk have made a tax within turkey.? most of the turkish people support government and support the fight against pkk because it is a terrorist organisation but about this operation we can say that public opinion is divided. some people argue that we do not have an imminent threat from syrian kurds living in the southern, next to the southern border of turkey and they say this operation will cause more serious to flee to turkey and increase the number of syrian refugees and they say would not want any war, any more clashes with the curse. but it is hard to hear the voices. the media in turkey is mostly control and under the influence of turkish government, let's say, and just recently, arrest wa rra nts let's say, and just recently, arrest warrants were issued for almost 80 people because of their tweet and things they wrote on social media, saying these people are doing propaganda for terrorism and they are promoting hate so they can arrest people in turkey. that development within the last few moments. thank you. earli

it is important to explain that the turkish government see the pkk, the kurdistan workers party, as ast of terrorist organisations but it is a small element in what is a large region. yes. the pkk, the kurdish militant group in turkey have been fighting against turkish state for over three decades. in the syrian kurdish militants in that area where turkey has now moved its ground forces, they are closely linked to kurdish militant groups in turkey. and it has been almost intercepted. so turkey sees their existence as a threat to its national security. and is now the third incursion turkey has launched against these militants but they insist it is not against kurds but against kurdish militants. given that the pkk had previously launched attacks within turkey, what is the feeling within turkey itself about what is happening right now on the ground in this area? public opinion is divided. 0ne ground in this area? public opinion is divided. one part says turkey has been traditionally fighting against the pkk for decades and it is an extension, they think it is an extension, they think it

the pkk is on the terrorism list of the state department.ow in syria, they have given -- rebranded as the ypg but the ypg is the pkk and we know that quite well. and we aligned with them -- >> they have been our allies and they have helped us, they have done all of the fighting on the ground, we supplied weapons in a few u.s. soldiers and a few other countries are represented. but they have been doing the fighting against isis, they've imprisoned thousands of isis fighters and whether or not we were right to get alongside them in the first place, they have been doing the workforce how they customer. >> they did not do it for th us, they did it for themselves. they're using and borrowing our power to build in a thomas kurdish state let on turkey's borders dominated exclusively by them. that is their political goal, and in our narrowminded counterterrorism view decided to turn a blind eye to all the political implications of their project which we have inadvertently been supporting. that was inevitably going to alienate turkey, not just presid

pkk has been listed as a terrorist organization by the united states for decades. let me give some context though because in the course of the dialog that i've heard over the last couple of weeks about the kurds and about the turks, everyone seems to want to oversimplify this issue. everyone wants to say, good guys, bad guys. and they're missing the point in the history of what he is happened in that region. the kurds have about 25 million people in their people groups, the fourth largest people group in the middle east. they live mostly in turkey, iraq, syria, iran and armenia. they have all different political parties, they have all different backgrounds. for over a century, they've worked to have their own national. and interestingly enough after world war i and the map changes in warorld war i, they've worke for and had pressed for their own country during that time period. but when the boundaries were drawn at the end of world war i after they had been promised they would have their own homeland, they were instead a larger turkey was drawn and the kurds were j

when we talk about pkk and the fight against pkk, the public opinion is mostly in parallel with governmentthis operation but when we look at social media and a reaction, the public opinion is divided, we can say but it's hard to see it on turkish media. given the fa ct see it on turkish media. given the fact that it is very much in control, no control may be a bit under the influence of turkish government and also in social media there is a big surveillance, just two hours ago, police have issued a warrant for 78 people because of their tweets and facebook messages because they are said they are promoting terrorism and hate amongst turkish public. so discussion is very restricted. thank you very much indeed. president trump has said us government officials will speak to anne sacoolas — an american national who is suspected of involvement in a fatal crash in england in which a teenager died. she is claiming diplomatic immunity. mr trump has acknowledged the "tremendous anger" over the incident. anne sacoolas flew home to the united states, despite telling police she had no intention of doin

if you look at pkk, take a look at pkk. isis respects pkk. there is -- they are tough or tougher than isis. look at a lot of the things having to do -- nobody wants to say. we are making the kurds look like they are angels. we have paid tremendous amounts of money to the kurds. we have given them massive fortunes. you know what? they fought with us. we paid a lot for them to fight with us. we were the ones that captured isis. they let some go. they opened a couple of doors to make us look as possible. we have a situation where turkey is taking land from syria. syria is not happy about it. let them work it out. we should not be over there. you should get your account correct. you cannot be showing buildings blowing up in kentucky and saying that it is syria. yes, please. ask a question. >> but you do not think the country is worried about isis? you mentioned earlier that you think some of the countries might hate isis more than the united states. >> absolutely. russia hates isis as much as the united states. i ran hates isis. we are fighting a

so, as such, the pkk was a us ally — until recently, apparently.art of the kurds, as you know, is probably worse at terror and more of a terrorist threat in many ways than isis. so it's a very semi—complicated — not too complicated if you're smart, but it's a semi—complicated problem, and i think it's a problem that we have very nicely under control. meanwhile, turkey's president has dismissed calls for a ceasefire in northern syria. bearin bear in mind, the us secretary of state and usa's prison are heading towards turkey order to meet president erdogan today. here he is today. translation: our country has fulfilled the rules of being in alliance with many different allies, but we realised as our allies give us promises, they say one thing to us and do other stuff behind our back. it is clear now that despite everything, turkey supports peace, stability and the well—being of people, and it will always be that way. as we've discussed a lot in the last week, there are thousands of militants held across kurdish controlled camps in northern syria. we

but with that said there was that element between the pkk and the united states. these are all small steps but that kurdish revolutions nationally. but chances are it will be autonomous regions but that is where this is going. >> now we will at the members join the conversation. today we are off the record. >> next week the house is expected to pass under suspension of the rules resolution on genocide and to be a continuous part of policy toward turkey will you comment on that will this play into erdogan hands to rally the base to be reelected? >> you are right the house does have intentionste to move that. it's not the first time we have seen armenian genocide resolution but yet each time it infuriates the turkish government and the public but that being said another reason why it is happening right now on the hill over what they just saw with northeast syria over time with pastor brunson and a number of other issues i do think there's a effort i won't necessarily the comment if that's a strategy that is shaping turkey's behavior but i do know it's on the radar a

everybody knows that's pkk's intention in syria. you cannot fight one terrorist organization, meaning isis with pkk in syria. that's been very clear. the president has raised this issue with world leaders since the beginning of the syrian war. what we're trying to do now is to give the syrians themselves a chance to go back to their homes where they belong. >> fair enough. let me ask you, sir, at any point during the conversation between president erdogan and president trump, didn't erdogan promise something to president trump in exchange for this troop withdraw? why did the president, from your understanding, decide to do this now against the opposition from members of his party and military advisers here in the u.s.? >> if you remember, this issue came up about eight months ago and president trump announced he was deciding to pull out of syria and it didn't happen. we had a number of agreements and negotiations, like the roadmap and the establishment of the safe zone. none of that materialized because, again, it's not for me to sa

we have different actions in there, you have pkk, that's a different faction.ked with us, it's a rough group but they work with us. we have spent a tremendous Ãb there fighting for their land. when you say they are fighting with us, yes, but they are fighting for the land. if we go on the theory that some of the folks in washington go by, who all do very well with the military-industrial complex, the military industrial complex take a look at dwight eisenhower. he had it figured right many years ago. tremendous power. they like fighting. they make a lot of money when they fight. but it was time to bring our soldiers back home so i see and i will tell you the hardest thing i have to do by far much harder than the witchhunt. it is signing letters to parents of soldiers who had been killed. it's not only that, in areas where there is not a lot of upside if there's any upside at all and in many cases only downside. especially when that soldier was killed in a blue on green attack, you know what that is? that's where a soldier being trained or whatever, turns his gu

if you look at the pkk, take a look at pkk. isis respects pkk. you know why? because there is tough or tougher than isis. you look at a lot of the things having to do, you have to say it. nobody wants to say it. they're making the kurds look like they are angels. we paid a lot of money to the kurds, tremendous amounts of money. butte given the massive fortunes. you know what? it's wonderful. they fought with us, but we pay a lot for them to fight with us. just so you understand, we were the ones that captured isis. people let some go, they opened a couple doors to make us look as bad as possible. we have a situation where turkey is taking land from syria. syria is not happy about it. let them work it out. we shouldn't be over there. you should get your accounts correct, and you shouldn't be showing buildings blowing up in kentucky and say it syria. because that really is fake news. yes, please. ask a question. >> reporter: we don't think the countries worried about ices? you mentioned earlier that you think some of the countries might hate ices more than the u

take a look at pkk. isis respects pkk. you know why? because they're as tough or tougher than isis. you have to say it. nobody wants to say it. we're making the kurds look like they're angels. we paid a lot of money to the kurds, tremendous amounts of money. we've given them massive fortunes. you know what? it's wonderful. we paid a lot for them to fight with us. just so you understand, we were the ones that captured isis. people let some go to make us look as bad as possible. we have a situation where turkey is taking land from syria. syria's not happy about it. let them work it out. we shouldn't be over there. and you should get your accounts correct and you shouldn't be showing buildings blowing up in kentucky and say it's syria because that really is fake news. >> you don't think the country's worried about isis? you mentioned earlier you think some of the countries might hate isis more than the united states. >> public schooabsolutely. russia hates isis as much as the united states does. iran hates isis. i mean, we're fighting a war for russia, we're fighting a war for iran? yo

take a look at pkk. isis respects pkk because they are tough for tougher than isis . you take a look at a lot of the things -- nobody wants to say it. we are making the kurds look like angels. we have paid tremendous money and have given them massive fortunes. you know what, it's wonderful. they fought with us but we paid a lot for them to fight with us. just so you understand, we were the ones that captured isis. people but some go. they opened a couple of doors to make us look as bad as possible . we have a situation where turkey is taking land from syria. syria is not happy about it, let them work it out. we should not be over there. you should get your accounts correct and you should not be showing buildings blowing up in kentucky. that really is fake news. >> you don't think the country is worried about isis? you mentioned earlier that some countries might hate isis more than the united states. president trump absolutely. : russia hates isis. russia hates isis as much as the united states. iran hates isis. we are fighting a war for russia, for iran. you look at s

we have been arming the pkk, and they are communists. guest: this is a difficult set of overlapping problems. i understand the desire by many do not have to deal with this problem or not put american lives on the line. however, the unfortunate reality is we had to go into syria because this region was not capable of handling the threat from isis, which rampaged across iraq and syria and was using that terrain to plan an exit kate attacks in europe and the execute attacks in europe and the united states. our choice was to allow them to continue to expand or to do something about it. onlynited states is the power capable of establishing and leading a global coalition to fight this horrific enemy. the challenge is, we deployed to syria in and is thought -- in an attempt to only focus on isis. you cannot separate isis from these wider problems. these problems are so interconnected that we have to have a regional strategy if we hope to end these wars and get out of the region. host: tim in salinas, tennessee, republican. caller: good morning.

rs fighting in turkey, the pkk, for 30 years with turkish state.a threat on its border to turkey's national security —— ypg. they don't wa nt national security —— ypg. they don't wantan national security —— ypg. they don't want an autonomous state on its border and that is why the government sees it as a national security issue and says that it has to protect its nation's security. and the public are behind that, aren't they, in terms of sentiment, what the public think of this situation at the moment in turkey. to be honest, there is a divide in public opinion and it goes in parallel with the fault lines in turkey. people who support government support this operation as well. yesterday morning, it was kind of funny, they were praising trump, saying that he has come to terms with turkey at a couple of hours later, after trump tweeted and threatening turkey, they started criticising my trump harshly. half of society, let's say, who support government, they support this operation as well. the other half says they don't want any wall and they say that

we have lost people in the hands of pkk terrorists, 40,000.e have given our full support to the united states,wi against 9/11out question. when the u.s. conducted operations and afghanistan, we knew it was against al qaeda. senator graham and [indiscernible] a terrorist orgaeszation reted as -- recognized as such. they are referring to it as an ally. judy: they did work alongside the u.s. in the fight against isis. >> that was a mistake in the first place. you cannot conduct a successful fight against a terrorist organization by making use of another terrorist organization. judy: you mentioned senator van hollen, senator graham. the entire foreign services committee in the u.s. senate are saying they are goingd ull speed ahth sanctions against turkey, despite this. >> this is the prejudice we have to overcome. they are rerring to ypg a allies of the u.s. they are not allies. our first and ultimate goal in syria is trying toth preserv territorial integrity of syria. judy: several questions. there was the phone call between pres trump and presid

and why peg calling for specific actions with the pkk we did not find examples with us provided arms to make itself across the border into turkey. >> to find plenty of examples for those coming from the other direction across the border. >> so the turks did a terrible job to prevent them from going to syria and the syrian kurds have done an excellent job to make sure they do not go from the territory they control into turkey thinking mister sherman thank you for your thoughtful leadership of this important serious study group we may have additional questions for you over the next five days so thank you again we've had many hearings on syria. we sit here at this moment with almost 6 million refugees. with the largest state sponsor that is most dedicated with those democratic norms. >> and what you have offered us here is important as a tool for discussion as it informs the work going forward take you for being here. with that we are adjourned. [inaudible conversations] tv on. "washington journal" continues." host: jennifer cafarella is here to talk ab >> jennifer is the director at th

the us and the eu the pkk has been battling the turkish state for decades. is in turkey's southeast. a region whose population has been caught in turkey's war on terror before. >>are being told is that there used to be single-story homes here but they were destroyed and the most recent clashes, very serious fighting that broke out between turkey and the pkk was back in 2015 and many of the homes here were subsequently destroyed what people are telling us is about a month ago, the turkish government gave them tease to these apartments they had only just returned. and now a found themselves in the middle of a war zone once again. >>this is right after the strike. so it's all foreigners >>a mother and her 2 daughters died they were barely teams. the kurdish population along both sides of this border, no war. the no fear and uncertainty and that war often blurs the lines between those who are armed and daughters we're in this. >>and is stepping down from his position with the chinese company. the son of democratic presidential candidate joe biden is expected to

with that said, there was an alliance between the pkk cards if you want, and the united states. since these are all small steps if you want and that improves slowly the kurdish relations internationally. that doesn't mean it's going to be her state anyway, in the future and chances are it will be autonomous regions. but that is where this is going. think of it is two steps forward and one step backwards. >> we are now a minute or two overdue to our members and guests. let's join the conversation. i do ask you to first of all, today we're on record is you may have been able to tell what the cameras. please wait for the microphones and speak directly into it. state your name and affiliation. please limit yourself to one question. so i'm going to start in the back please. >> rachel, reporter with cq roll call. next week the house expected to pass suspension of the rules a resolution recognizing the genocide, the resolution said this should be a one-off, continuous part of the u.s. policy towards turkey. with a panel comment on that as well is what this will infuriate the turkish pu

primary concern is its struggle against pkk.ountering isis falls much further down the list of turkish priorities. actions threaten further instability and chaos in a country that has suffered devastation. reports of syrian and russian troops occupying abandoned u.s. positions underscores that turkey's actions have opened the his russiand and and iranian backers. the u.s. withdraw has created an opportunity to be exploited by russia. on the day the u.s.-brokered cease-fire was set to expire, president erdogan met with president boudin. u.n. security council resolution framework for a political resolution, cease-fire, free elections, remains very much in doubt with putin's high level and -- high level of involvement. we should discouraged parallel talks and reinvigorate the u.n. process. isis detainees, many at makeshift prisons, add to the complexity. we have seen reports of breakouts. further escape of battle hardened terrorists will serve as a strategic boon for isis to swell the ranks. finally, there is the broader issue of u

i can't imagine anybody in the national security apparatus would ever argue that the pkk is worse thanour former colleagues at the cia, at the pentagon, about the way this was done and then more broadly the national security structure? >> well there does not seem to have been the kind of deliberative process that generally is associated with national security policy-making. i have often reassured our audiences overseas and foreign countries and reminded them that, number one, foreign policy is not just the president or executive branch and congress and others participate. >> guardrails. >> and then second i would say read the tweets they are the unedited comments of the commander in chief and then follow the troops an the money and policy because oftentimes he has tested -- these are trial balloons and in this case the tweets have become the policy. and that is obviously concerning. >> i want to turn to one other topic having to do with national security. acting chief of staff mick mulvaney acknowledged this week that president trump withheld military aid to ukraine, almost $400 millio

ththe pkk bebecause some workers policy. opoperating from syria now on the phonee state it was protections universal ypg sir f find g goinn and telling his nice that t he's going to give turkey protection he's standing up toto united states he's standiding up to russia. it appeals to the is your half of you turkey should be one the great powers of the of the world of course the rounded sees somewhat different okay is going in. i it is i in danger during its diplomatic relations with many mamany key axes. united states e european powers itt as well ththis lady d antagonized many using thehe hed we havave seen n now. meetings a u. ministers today deciding many of f those countries to suspendll strtraightened w with turkrkey in. this movie simply n the in the sentence in the united states. things are dropping here which i just put to use just for an instant reaction i'm not expecting full analysis but so you know the dossier so i'm pretty sure you can do with this no problem. at trump donald trump saying steel tariffs on turkey

it is kun in the same as the pkk which is the group that turkey has been battling for decades. up until 1998 they used to be based in syria. they're leader was in northern syria, and they were threatening demass discuss back then. and the current president's father had actually decided to eject the pkk's leader and shut down the camps, and the ypg is basically one in the same and labels it as a terrorist organization, but it is worth noting they are considered to be a terror organization by the u.s. and the eu. turkey has been confounded that the u.s. would even turn to the ypg as a key ally on the ground. turkey has been saying if they're not able to cooperate on this, if america does not do what turkey wants, then turkey will go it alone. they have hundreds of miles of stretch of border and they want to create this zone. most of them kurdish who live in these areas and these areas could potential i will be places where they will resetting some of the refugees they have in turkey. most of two or syrian arabs. it is thoord see howhard to see demographic change is not taking pla

the pkk has been battling the turn issue state for decades. a region whose population has been caught in turkey's war on terror before. we are being told there used to be single story homes here, but they were destroyed in the most recent clashes. very fierce fighting that broke out between turkey and the pkk. that was back in 2015. and many of the homes here were subsequently destroyed. what people are telling us is about a month ago the turkish government gave them keys to these apartments. they had only just returned. now they have found themselves in the middle of a war zone once again. this is a video right after the strike. it's very hard to look at. a mother and her two daughters died. they were barely teens. the kurdish population along both sides of this border know war. they know fear and uncertainty. and that war often blurs the lines between those who are armed and those who are innocent. >>> live along the turkish-syrian border, arwa damon is here with the story. ar want, sdf commander saying essentially this is a case of betrayal