MEZOPOTAMIA KURDISTAN DAYILA INDEPENDENT NEWSSERVICE
Mezopotamian Development Society (Registered) GERMANY – FRANKFURT
THE MOST REQUESTED DAILY & ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWSSERVICE ON KURDISTAN FOR THE HIGHLY INVOLVED PEOPLE – email : mesop@online.de – Watch our website : www.mesop.de
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MESOP TODAYS RELEVANT TWEETS & SHORT CUTS
MESOP : THE TEHRAN PARTNER OF PUK & PKK WILL NOT TOLERATE AN INDEPENDENT KURDISTAN
#Iran will not tolerate #Kurdish independence, ‘#ISIS and #Israel benefit only’ http://rudaw.net/NewsDetails.aspx?pageid=195101 …
Ex-Russian Security Chief: Russia to Launch Airstrikes on Turkish, Saudi Troops in Syria
FARS News Agency. Iran. http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941127000182
YPG have stressed that ISIS blowing up Qare Qowzaq bridge on the Euphrates river will not impede their progress.
The Independent @Independent 15m15 minutes ago
Italy investigates Turkish president’s son over money laundering case http://ind.pn/1oKqXsm
MESOP TODAYS LATEST : Turkey vows to stop Kurdish militia gaining border foothold http://reut.rs/1VmAnof via @Reuters
Turkey ups the ante in Syria http://almon.co/2ll0 via @AlMonitor
Iraqi Kurds accept Baghdad’s deal to pay salaries https://shar.es/14D5rK via @MiddleEastEye
US: Our support for Kurds against ISIS doesn’t change our united http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/17022016 … via @RudawEnglish
MESOP INSIGHT
Interesting article on VOA: Bitter Rebels Blame Kurds for Looming Tide of Syrian Refugees http://www.voanews.com/content/turks-fear-kurds-regime-plan-to-empty-northern-aleppo-of-sunni-arabs/3192772.html …
Watch document: http://www.mesop.de/?p=71353
MESOP : EUROPEAN PRESENCE OF PYD (PKK) UNDER INTELLIGENCE UMBRELLA
Syrian Kurds Choose Prague for 1st European Office
The first European office of Syria’s Kurds will be opened in Prague. It will provide military and financial support for the PYD/PKK. (In fact PYD had many offices years before in London and Brussels.)
Syria’s Kurds are going to open their first European office. The headquarters will be situated in Prague, Ceska Televize reported, citing Kurdish militia spokesperson Sheruan Hassan. Due to security reasons, the address of the unofficial office of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) is now confidential. The office will provide political, financial and military support for Kurds. http://www.mesop.de/?p=71345
MESOP TODAYS COMMENTARY BY COL. NORA MARCOS / A MASTERPLAN
INTERVENTION TO ASSIST FLEEING SYRIANS: WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHY, AND HOW
PolicyWatch 2560 – February 16, 2016 – By Col. Nora Marcos – US ARMY
Establishment of humanitarian corridors, safe havens, safe zones, or buffer or no-fly zones could turn the tide of Syria’s humanitarian crisis, but it could also pose numerous complications and create second- and third-order effects for the region. Despite Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent announcement of a ‘cessation of hostilities’ in Syria, much work remains to be done to define “progress on the humanitarian front” beyond the intent to “accelerate and expand the delivery of humanitarian aid.” While the establishment of humanitarian corridors, safe havens, safe zones, or buffer or no-fly zones could turn the tide of Syria’s humanitarian crisis, it could also pose numerous complications and create several second- and third-order effects for the region. Indeed, U.S. policy does not currently support these measures, but humanitarian considerations and concerns over the impact of refugees on U.S. allies — or else, the refusal of Syria, Russia, and Iran to adhere to a ceasefire — may force Washington to reconsider its position and reevaluate the who, what, where, why, and potential how of this kind of intervention in Syria. These scenarios are outlined here: http://www.mesop.de/?p=71339
SOUTH KURDISTN (IRAQ)
MESOP : QUBAD : PLEASE BAGHDAD, PAY OUR SALARIES ! “Kurdistan deputy prime minister Qubad Talabani responded on his Facebook page that if Baghdad did in fact pay the salaries, an “agreement with them would be easy and natural.”
Iraq Kurds Made $3.94 Billion From Direct Oil Sales in 2015
Posted 2016-02-17 – (AFP) — Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region announced on Tuesday that it made over $3.94 billion last year from direct oil export sales that the country’s federal government considers illegal. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=71336
WEST KURDISTAN (SYRIA)
MESOP BACKGROUNDER : SYRIAN ARMED OPPOSITION FORCES IN ALEPPO / By Jennifer Cafarella (ISW)
Update on Situation in Aleppo Province
The U.S. requires partnerships with Syrian armed opposition groups in order to destroy ISIS and al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al Nusra in the long term. Without local Sunni partners that hold the support of the population, the U.S. faces high costs to destroy ISIS and al Qaeda in Syria and risks failure. The U.S. still retains potential partners in the North to achieve this objective: ISW assesses that six of the powerbrokers or potential powerbrokers in Aleppo Province are eligible for this partnership. Russian military support to the Assad regime’s offensive in Aleppo is forcing U.S.-backed opposition groups to rely more heavily on support from Jabhat al Nusra and its Salafi jihadi allies in Syria. With the help of Russian airstrikes, the regime has continued to close in on the opposition and has nearly completed a full siege of the opposition-held parts of Aleppo City. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=71341
“The Opposition Forces in Aleppo” (PART II – FULL TEXT) / by Jennifer Cafarella and Genevieve Casagrande (ISW) . – What the US can do ?
First, the U.S. could conduct humanitarian airdrops of supplies into opposition-held neighborhoods of the city in order to sustain both the opposition groups and the hundreds of thousands of civilians in opposition-held areas of Aleppo City to forestall a humanitarian catastrophe. Providing humanitarian aid to opposition groups in Aleppo increases their ability to endure the siege without submitting to Jabhat al Nusra’s leadership. The U.S. has the capability to do so from airbases in Turkey currently used for the antiISIS campaign. Turkey would support such operations and almost certainly grant the use of its bases for them to preserve opposition groups in Aleppo, including those that already receive Turkish aid, in order to pursue regime change in Syria. Jabhat al Nusra would be able to access some of this aid, but the U.S. should not let Jabhat al Nusra’s presence in the city condemn the civilian population and opposition groups at risk. Any American intervention in Aleppo, even an airdrop of humanitarian supplies, will risk provoking Russia. Russia is very unlikely willing to rise escalation over Aleppo, however, as it is not a core Russian strategic interest. U.S. policymakers are reportedly considering humanitarian airdrops, and should undertake them immediately. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=71343
MESOP : OBAMA ? HAS NOTHING !
Syria Op-Ed: The US Has No Plan B to Deal with Russia and Iran’s Plan A
February 17 – by Scott Lucas – eaworldview – Frederic Hof writes for The World Post:
With no more than a smile and a shoeshine, Secretary of State John Kerry seeks to persuade Russia to do the right thing by Syria: to force its client Assad regime to lift sieges on a million helpless civilians; to wind down a Russian Air Force campaign stampeding terrified Syrians in the direction of Turkey; and to support all-Syrian negotiations that can produce a transitional governing body to unify the country against the Islamic State. Perhaps Russian President Vladimir Putin will take pity on Syrians and the United States of America. This is what it will take for Washington’s Syria strategy to work. There is no leverage. There is no Plan B. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=71349
MESOP NEWS – Iran Daily: Tehran Declares “Unflinching Support” for Assad Regime
February 17 – Scott Lucas – eaworldview – Iran’s regime has issued another high-profile statement over Syria’s civil war, declaring its “unflinching support” for the Assad regime.First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri said, after a telephone conversation with Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi on Tuesday: Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=71351
MESOP : BASHAR’S ENVOY PRAISES PYD/PKK – Syria government declares support for PYD / US not alone in cooperating with PKK’s Syrian affiliate, says Syrian UN Ambassador Ja’afari
NEW YORK – aa.com.tr – The Syrian UN envoy said Tuesday that terrorist organization PKK’s Syrian affiliate, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), enjoys the support of not only the U.S. but also the Assad regime. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=71347
EAST KURDISTAN (IRAN)
Russia will deliver an order of S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Iran this week after years of delays under the sanctions regime against the country, according to Russian media; Russia is also expected to sign a deal to sell Iran Sukhoi Su-30SM fighter jets. http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran/Report-Russia-to-sign-contract-this-year-to-sell-Su-30SM-fighter-jets-to-Iran-445156?utm_source=sailthru&utm_campaign=new%20campaign&utm_term=%2amideast%20brief