Clashes broke out between Syrian rebel factions and Kurdish fighters in Aleppo province, as Arabs and Kurds are further pitted against each other by Great Power manipulation.
Authorities in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region announced that a referendum on independence will be held in September—drawing immediate harsh criticism from Baghdad.
After Kurdish guerillas attacked an Iranian border patrol, Tehran blamed Turkey for failing to prevent "terrorist" infiltration—even as Turkey is building a security wall along the frontier.
As Rodrigo Duterte openly defies rights groups and the UN in his murderous war on low-level drug dealers and users, Trump invites the Philippine strongman to the White House.
Two sisters abused by their family in Saudi Arabia were deported by Turkey—despite their asylum bid and fears they will be tortured or even executed by Saudi authorities.
In his White House meeting with Erdogan, Trump was sure to pledge support against the PKK "terrorists"—even as the US is backing PKK-aligned Kurds against ISIS in Syria.
The Rojava Kurds, caught in a pincer between Turkey and ISIS, are being forced to accept superpower aid—but with costs for Syrian revolutionary unity against ISIS and Assad.
Following Turkish air-strikes on their forces in northern Syria, Kurdish leaders in the region issued a call for a "no-fly zone"—heightening the contradictions for Washington.
Turkish air-strikes on Kurdish militants both in Iraq and Syria place the US in an increasingly contradictory position—torn between its NATO ally and the most effective anti-ISIS forces.
Insistence on regional autonomy and a federal solution for Syria is straining the de facto alliance between the Rojava Kurds and Damascus, despite their mutual enmity for Turkey.
The ultra-hawkish Henry Jackson Society warns that the US-backed Kurdish forces in Syria are allied with anarchists and elements of the Turkish and European armed left.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's referendum granting himself sweeping powers took place in an atmosphere of terror, with opposition leaders silenced and detained.
