 Syria regime pounds Kurdish positions for second day Hasakeh, Syria (AFP) Aug 19, 2016 - Syrian regime warplanes bombarded the northeastern city of Hasakeh for the second day on Friday, targeting positions held by Kurdish forces, a monitor and a journalist in the city said. Fresh strikes came as the Pentagon said that US-led coalition fighter jets scrambled to protect Kurdish forces working with American advisers in Syria as they were targeted by regime planes Thursday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights -- which monitors the conflict and determines which planes carry out raids according to their type, location, flight patterns and the munitions involved -- said Friday's strikes were conducted by regime jets. The journalist in Hasakeh said eight air strikes could be heard throughout the day, mostly focused in the city's southwestern neighbourhoods. Most of Hasakeh city, the capital of the northeastern province by the same name, is controlled by Kurdish forces, while the rest is held by fighters loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. Since Wednesday, clashes between the two forces have rocked the city, leaving 23 civilians -- including nine children -- and 16 combattants dead, the Observatory said. The Britain-based monitor said thousands of inhabitants had begun to flee Hasakeh, where bread was running out and electricity supplies have been cut. Thursday's government raids on Hasakeh were the first time the regime had bombarded Kurdish positions from the air. The development prompted jets from the US-led coalition battling the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq to intervene in order to protect Kurdish forces working alongside US advisors, a Pentagon spokesman said Friday. "This was done as a measure to protect coalition forces," Captain Jeff Davis said. "We did make clear that US aircraft would defend troops on the ground if threatened." The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) are a key US ally in the fight against IS. Washington regards them as the most effective fighting force on the ground in Syria and has provided weapons and special forces military advisers. IS controls most of the Euphrates valley to the south of Hasakeh, and tensions between regime and Kurdish forces have sometimes led to armed clashes in spite of their common jihadist enemy. The Kurds, who control much of northeastern and northern Syria along the Turkish border where they have proclaimed an autonomous Kurdish region, recently demanded that the pro-government National Defence Forces disband in Hasakeh. A government source in the city told AFP that the air strikes were "a message to the Kurds that they should stop this sort of demand that constitutes an affront to national sovereignty". More than 290,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011.
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Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Saturday insisted the United States was Turkey's "strategic partner, not our enemy" despite Ankara's anger at Washington for failing to extradite Fethullah Gulen, whom it blames for last month's failed coup.
"There can be ups and downs in the two countries' relations (but) we need to remove elements that harm our relations," Yildirim told journalists in Istanbul, referring to the Pennsylvania-based cleric.
Ankara has for years accused Gulen of running a "parallel state" in Turkey and it also blamed him for ordering the failed putsch of July 15.
The reclusive cleric, who has lived in self-exile in the United States since 1999, strongly denies any involvement in the coup attempt.
Ankara had previously suggested any failure to deliver Gulen would severely damage bilateral ties and Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said it was up to Washington to extradite him to prevent "anti-US feeling" in Turkey turning into "hate".
The White House has confirmed that US Vice President Joe Biden will visit Ankara next week in the highest-ranking visit to Turkey by any Western official since the coup.
Yildirim also confirmed a technical delegation would arrive on August 22 for talks with Turkey's judicial authorities ahead of Biden's visit.
"I hope this process will be finalised in a way favoured by both countries, and (that) questions in the minds of Turkish people about America will be removed."
Greece hears asylum claim of Turkish 'coup' officer
Athens (AFP) Aug 19, 2016 -
Greece on Friday heard the asylum claim of the first of eight Turkish military officers who fled their country after the failed coup on July 15, the asylum service said.
Captain Feridun Coban presented himself at the headquarters of the asylum service in Athens early on Friday and spent nearly five hours there, the group's lawyer Stavroula Tomara said.
His fellow officers -- three captains, two commanders and two sergeants, who along with Coban are accused by Turkey of involvement in the coup -- will have their cases heard from Monday.
The men requested asylum in Greece after landing a military helicopter in the northern city of Alexandroupoli, four days after the attempted government takeover on July 15.
No decision will be made in their cases for "two or three months", according to the asylum service.
Greece said Thursday that Turkey had formally requested the extradition of the men on suspicion of involvement in the failed coup. The men deny the accusations.
The asylum service said the cases will "follow a totally normal procedure" despite pressure from Ankara to hand the men over, with the issue threatening to strain ties between the uneasy NATO allies.
Athens, which depends on Ankara's good will to stem the flood of migrants and refugees coming onto its territory following a deal with the EU in March, has been embarrassed by the affair.
"We hope that the fate of these eight innocent men will not be part of the German-led negotiations to ensure the EU-Turkey deal remains in place," Tomara said.
Meanwhile, the justice ministry confirmed on Friday it had handed over Ankara's demand for their extradition to the prosecution service.
Examination of the request could take several months, a judicial source said.
- Could be in danger -
In late July, a court in Alexandroupoli sentenced the eight -- who face a military trial in their homeland if sent back -- to suspended two-month prison terms for illegal entry.
The eight claim they will not receive a fair trial in Turkey, where the authorities have detained tens of thousands of people over the coup, including top generals.
If sent home, their lives could be in danger, one of their lawyers has claimed.
Tomara said that if they were extradited there would be risks "for their security and their lives, as well as those of their families".
Greece and Turkey's prime ministers spoke by phone Thursday to discuss "matters of judicial cooperation", Athens said.
Ties between Greece and Turkey have improved in recent years as the two countries have pursued a policy of normalisation but have been strained by territorial disputes over the Aegean Sea and the status of Cyprus.
Athens has also been dependent on Turkey to help it control the wave of migrants who have arrived on its shores since 2015 heading towards northern Europe.
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