Turkish airstrikes in Syria and Iraq and their impact on religious and ethnic minorities
Turkish warplanes struck suspected Kurdish positions in Iraq and Syria early on Wednesday in a new aerial offensive. The Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria condemned Turkey’s airstrikes and urged the international community to intervene to stop what it called “Turkish aggression.” It said the Turkish strikes came days after the Kurdish-led and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces defeated scores of IS militants who broke into a prison where some 3,000 extremists are held. Nadine Maenza, the Chair of USCIRF, joins our host Thanos Davelis to discuss Turkey’s actions and explain how they target religious and ethnic minorities and run counter to the US mission to defeat IS. We also discuss USCIRF’s overall work on Turkey.
Nadine Maenza is the Chair of USCIRF and the President of the organization Patriot Voices. She has represented USCIRF in various delegations, and has traveled in her own personal capacity to better understand religious freedom conditions in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Bangladesh, as well as northeast Syria.
You can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here:
Tweet by USCIRF Chair Nadine Maenza
Turkish warplanes attack Kurdish fighters in Iraq, Syria
Islamic State hits back, aided by power vacuum in Iraq and Syria
Turkey-Greece border: Twelve migrants die in freezing conditions
Mitarakis rejects Turkish pushback claims as ‘false propaganda’
Blinken thanks Dendias for Greek contribution to Afghanistan