AL-MALIKIYAH, Syria: Turkish warplanes killed more than two dozen Kurdish fighters Tuesday in strikes in Syria and Iraq, where the Kurds are key players in the battle against Daesh.
Turkey said it had carried out the strikes in northeast Syria and northern Iraq against “terrorist havens,” vowing to continue acting against groups it links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
In northeast Syria, strikes targeting the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) — who are leading the offensive against Daesh stronghold Raqqa — were reported to have killed 20 fighters.
In northern Iraq they killed six peshmerga fighters from the autonomous Kurdish government, usually allied with Ankara, in an apparent accident.
Iraqi government spokesman Saad Al-Hadithi said: “The Iraqi government condemns and rejects the strikes carried out by Turkish aircraft on Iraqi territory.”
The strikes underlined the complexities of the battlefields in Iraq and Syria, where twin US-backed offensives are seeking to dislodge Daesh from its last major urban strongholds.
They could also exacerbate tensions between Ankara and its NATO ally Washington, which leads an anti-Daesh coalition carrying out airstrikes in Syria and Iraq and sees the Kurds as instrumental in the fight against Daesh.
Turkey said its strikes aimed “to destroy terrorist havens targeting our country” and vowed to press the offensive “until the very last terrorist is neutralized.”
An army statement said the strikes “destroyed” shelter areas, ammunition warehouses and PKK communications facilities. It said 40 PKK fighters were “neutralized” in Iraq and around 30 in Syria.
The bombardment near the Syrian city of Al-Malikiyah saw “dozens of simultaneous airstrikes” overnight on YPG positions including a media center, a monitoring group said.
A commander for Kurdish forces urged the US-led coalition to prevent further Turkish strikes on their forces.
“We are asking the international coalition to intervene to stop these Turkish violations,” the commander told AFP. “It’s unthinkable that we are fighting on a front as important as (Daesh bastion) Raqqa while Turkish planes bomb us in the back,” the commander said.
“The YPG will not be silent on this blatant attack, and we reserve our right to defend ourselves and take revenge for our martyrs,” YPG spokesman Redur Xelil said.
The US-led coalition “has a huge responsibility and must carry out its duty to protect this area, because we are partners in fighting Daesh,” he said.
Turkish strikes kill Kurdish fighters in Syria, Iraq
Turkish strikes kill Kurdish fighters in Syria, Iraq
Moroccan lawyers protest bill they say threatens profession’s independence
- The government has presented the draft law as a means of “modernizing” the legal profession with anti-corruption measures
RABAT: Thousands of lawyers demonstrated on Friday outside Morocco’s parliament in Rabat, calling for the withdrawal of a draft law they said threatened their immunity and independence.
Dressed in black robes, they waved banners and chanted slogans against the bill, which is currently under parliamentary review.
The government has presented the draft law as a means of “modernizing” the legal profession with anti-corruption measures.
But the lawyers say some of its provisions could curtail their protections.
A main point of contention is the provision to grant the courts direct disciplinary power over lawyers. Normally, disciplinary matters are handled internally by the bar association.
“Our demand is simply the withdrawal of the draft law,” said Omar Mahmoud Bendjelloun, 49, from the Moroccan bar association, adding that the bill would “subjugate” the legal profession.
Lawyer Karima Salama, 47, called for “a participatory approach” to reforming the profession.
Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi said during a parliamentary session on Tuesday that he was “ready to renounce, modify or reform anything that harms lawyers.”
Still, the minister insisted that “lawyering needs to change, and I will implement that change.”
