Kurdish Rebels: Territories West and Syrian Terrain

kurdish rebels: The seizure of al-Bab after a protracted, bloody fight that levelled large parts of the city brings Ankara closer to its stated goal for its months-long operation in Syria Driving IS fighters from the border and preventing Kurdish rebels in the north from linking their territories west and east of Syria along the Turkish border, according to CTV. It also highlights the complexity of the Syrian terrain. The talks in the Swiss capital began as Turkish troops and Syrian opposition forces seized the centre of the Islamic State-held town of al-Bab, breaking a weeks-long deadlock between the two sides at the periphery of the town in northern Syria, according to Turkey's state news agency and Syrian opposition activists. Pro-government forces are just 3 kilometres south of al-Bab, though clashes with the opposition forces in the area have so far been limited. The conflict has long been a proxy war between international and regional stakeholders in this Arab nation. The Geneva talks, which exclude extremist groups like the Islamic State group, are the latest bid to end Syria's catastrophic six-year war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced some 11 million more. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.