Turkey is now invading Syria with the Special Forces of its military. Make no mistake about it, you are now witnessing Turkish expansionism

The special forces units crossed into Syrian territory from the southern Turkish provinces of Kilis and Hatay, local media reported. The new forces are expected to hold villages taken by Turkish troops from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) as well as to take part in urban combat as Turkey’s Operation Olive Branch apparently moves from the countryside to the major settlements.

“Deploying special forces is part of the preparation for a new fight that is approaching,” Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag told Turkish NTV. “The fight will shift to places where there are civilians, as the area (of fighting) narrows,” he said, adding that the special forces units have experience in fighting militants in residential areas.

Even though the Turkish operation has entered its sixth week, most of the larger towns in the Kurdish-held enclave, including the city of Afrin itself, remain in the hands of the YPG. Still, Turkish forces drove the Kurdish militias from all areas bordering Turkey, local media report. On February 20, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the troops would lay siege to Afrin “in the coming days.”

Operation Olive Branch will continue despite a UN Security Council resolution envisaging a 30-day nationwide ceasefire in Syria. The resolution, which was unanimously adopted by the security council on Saturday, says that the ceasefire does not apply to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), Al-Nusra, or any other terrorist organization.

Ankara believes this exemption applies to the Kurdish militias as well. “When we look at the UN Security Council resolution, we see that fight against terror organizations is outside its scope. Therefore, it will not affect Turkey’s ongoing operation,” Bozdag said, as cited by Anadolu news agency.

The Turkish military began its operation against the YPG, a Kurdish-led militia, as it considers it to be a wing of the PKK, an armed movement that Ankara regards as terrorist. The YPG, which controls several enclaves in northern Syria, including Afrin, secured the territories from Islamist rebels and other extremist groups over the course of the Syrian conflict with the US-led coalition’s backing.

The number of “terrorists” who were “neutralized” over the course of the operation has reached 2,059, the Turkish General Staff said on Monday. Ankara also insists that the offensive is solely aimed at wiping out terrorists, denying allegations that it has targeted civilians.

The Turkish operation also increases tensions between Ankara and Damascus. The Syrian government has repeatedly condemned the operation as a violation of the country’s sovereignty and has accused Ankara of “aggression” against the Syrian people. Damascus also sent militias to Afrin to reinforce locals in their resistance against the Turkish onslaught.

This information was disputed by Ankara, which said the Syrian forces were prevented from entering the region. Erdogan also warned that the incoming militias would “pay a heavy price.”

Who is is supplying Turkey with its military technology? Western defense companies. We know for a fact that Germany is the one supplying Turkey with its Leopard tank, as we read in a report from DW:

Turkey has given confirmation that its troops have been using Leopard 2 tanks supplied by Germany during their offensive against Kurdish fighters in the Syrian border region of Afrin, according to a report from the German Ministry for Economic Affairs sent to parliamentarians in Berlin.

And we know that the German defense company, Rheinmetall, has made a contract with the Turkish defense company, Havelsan, to produce for Turkey a tank of its own.

This all has historical parallels. Lets remember that during World War One it was the Germans who provided the Ottomans naval support, driving the British navy out of the Dardanelles with its U-boats, removing the obstacle of naval bombardment for the Turks and giving the Turkish artillery men freedom to strike the British and the Aussies without impediment.

Moreover, the mobile batteries that the Turks were using to strike the British in the Dardanelles were German made. Furthermore, the Germans built the railway network by which they could send a continual flow of weapons and troops to Turkey. This overwhelming flow of weapons and men exhausted the British and French and forced them to retreat in the battle over the Dardanelles.

So while we must focus on what Turkey is doing, we must also remember the Germanic forces backing them (and yes, that includes the Americans and Anglo Saxons who are providing support for Turkey). Germany, like in the past, will side with the revived Ottoman empire.