TURKEY’S president has said he will not halt its military offensive in northeast Syria, despite growing pressure and sanctions from Nato allies.
Erdogan said he told President Donald Trump: “We could never declare a ceasefire”, adding that Turkey wouldn’t negotiate with “terrorists”.
Turkey launched its offensive against Syrian Kurdish fighters it considers terrorists after Trump announced he was withdrawing US troops. The American move effectively abandoned the Kurdish fighters who were allied with the US.
Russia has signalled its role as de facto power broker in the conflict, moving quickly to further entrench its position in the region.
America’s abrupt reversal pushed the Kurds to strike a deal with the Russia-backed government of Syrian president Bashar Assad.
READ MORE: Creation of a buffer zone in Syria is no solution
MEANWHILE, US Democratic representatives Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are endorsing Bernie Sanders for president.
The endorsements are a major aid for the 78-year-old Vermont senator, who has faced questions over his health since suffering a heart attack two weeks ago.
Ocasio-Cortez and Omar are progressive stars and frequent targets of President Donald Trump.
Sanders’ deputy communications director Sarah Ford said Ocasio-Cortez will appear with the senator at a rally in her home district in New York this weekend.
Sanders hinted at her backing during Tuesday’s Democratic debate saying his Saturday rally will feature a “surprise guest”.
READ MORE: Judge strikes blow to Donald Trump in New York tax returns case
ELSEWHERE, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un mounted a white horse in an evocative propaganda stunt as his own deadline for US movement on nuclear talks is nearing.
The images in his country’s official media showed a bespectacled Kim, wearing a long, light-brown coat and riding up snow-covered Mount Paektu on horseback.
The location and the animal are symbols associated with the Kim family’s dynastic rule.
The highest point on the Korean Peninsula is sacred to North Koreans, and Kim has visited it before making major decisions such as the 2013 execution of his powerful uncle and his 2018 entrance into diplomacy with Seoul and Washington.
FINALLY, at least two security officers have been killed when a car bomb detonated near a district headquarters in eastern Laghman province, an Afghan official said.
Asadullah Dawlatzai, spokesman for the provincial governor, says that 26 people including 20 children and six security force members were wounded in yesterday’s attack in Alishing.
He said the wounded children were inside a nearby mosque where they were studying the Koran.
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