Syria: Proxy Warfare Intensifies in Afrin

The Syrian civil war’s proxy battles are intensifying. Over the last two days, large numbers of pro-government militia forces have joined fighters from the Kurdish People's Protection Units in Afrin which is the subject of a Turkish offensive. As the Turkish military continues its attempts remove Kurdish forces from the Afrin region under what it calls Operation Olive Branch, the Kurdish militia is negotiating with the Syrian and Iranian governments, seeking an agreement to deploy Syrian loyalist forces to the region to try to stop the Turkish assault. Though forces loyal to the Syrian government have moved into Afrin, these are not regular Syrian military units. The Kurdish negotiations have far to go before they are resolved, and in the meantime, Turkey will remain determined to prevent Kurdish forces from remaining near its border....