three hundred fifty migrants bound for europe from libya have been rescued while trying to cross the mediterranean libyan coast guards received a distress call from one boat carrying my prince but soon after a successful rescue another distress signal was sent for two more boats. donald trump paying have held a phone conversation focusing on the korean peninsula chinese state media says she's meshes was that the easing of tensions must continue pope francis is arrived in chile his first stop on the visit to south america crowds greeted the pontiff as he drove through the streets of the capital santiago but there are scenes ahead of his visit with five churches vandalized in recent days security for the papal visit was wrapped up as a result and four times the limpid gold medalist simone biles of the she's among one hundred athletes who were sexually abused by former u.s. gymnastics team dr larry nasser was the top gymnast in the six twenty sixteen rio

olympics which is actually admitted sexually assaulting gymnasts and possessing child pornography that's the news more in thirty minutes inside story is next. i am doing this for the benefit of sudan people so bad they see the importance of. witness documentaries that open your eyes at this time on al-jazeera. is donald trump playing with fire by backing the kurds in syria yes he is says turkey which feels threatened by a new army of thirty thousand mainly kurdish soldiers on the turkish border how much volatility will they add to the war zone this is inside story.

i welcome to the program i'm jane u.s. support for kurds in syria is leading to threats of retaliation from turkey the u.s. led coalition plans to set up a thirty thousand strong force in syria just across the border with turkey turkey is president thinks the kurdish led force is a threat and is valid to attack the city of afrin in northern syria afrin is a major stronghold of y.p. kurdish fighters taking considers the y.p. g a terrorist group linked to kurdistan workers party or the p.k. k. fighters who've waged a long war against turkish dominance but in a hundred ports. turkish president today chip tayyip erdogan and using a party address to look staunch in the face of a u.s. backed kurdish force on his southern border he promised to respond with a show of force saying to

a key will launch its own military operation and the northern syrian city of buffeting not so still a lot of religion that just like we do not let the kurdistan workers party or open their eyes within our borders we are determined to vanquish them on the other side of fall border god willing in the coming days we will continue the operation to purge our southern border from terror. tikki has fought kurdish factions. then its borders for more than thirty years and doesn't want to see the kurds gain power in neighboring syria the u.s. and the european union say the p.k. k. is a terror group but in northern syria the americans say they're supporting kurdish forces not the p.k. k. specifically the kurds are the most effective fighting force against the islamic state in syria and they've been very successful at that that's the american purpose but the turks regard the kurds and the why b.g. as a dire threat to u.s.

president trump promised that he would stop being and training could fight is but the pentagon never made that official now tikki is furious about reports of a new u.s. backed border force of thirty thousand personnel with the syrian democratic forces a group of largely controlled by the could ish y p g they will reportedly deploy along the border of turkey iraq to the southeast and the euphrates river valley the dividing line with assad's military how the american backed couldst why p.g. posted this online in december purporting to show clashes with turkish forces it's enough rain in northern syria the same could. be one now says he will launch a military operation in the coming days they'll get there already kyler despite it all we believe we have common interests with america in the region and hope we can act in concert because the time has come to support turkey and the time to give

strategical peroration is due. afrin could be the taste for a difficult three way relationship between powers in the syrian war ticky the united states and the kurdish fight is so hated by one side and supported by the other medium hond al-jazeera. and it's bringing our guests joining us from washington d.c. get around as can people's democratic party representative to the united states of america a.t.p.'s a kurdish opposition group in turkey in istanbul mitten good jan a security analyst and former turkey military officer and from reza italy by skype is joshua landis directs the center for middle east studies at the university of oklahoma very warm welcome to all three of you let me start off with you joshua landis what do you make of this outright support now for the kurds in syria and the

u.s. backing this thirty thousand strong force well it's clearly a new departure for the united states the u.s. went into syria saying that it was a very narrow policy to defeat isis today isis is largely defeated yes there needs to be more policing but the united states has developed a policy which goes far beyond defeating isis today it is trying to roll back iran weaken our side help its allies israel and saudi arabia and did not i our side capability to rebuilt keep it weak and divided and this means supporting the kurds in the north and a larger on clay. this is infuriating turkey an error to want it is driving turkey towards russia and i believe it's a dangerous policy for the united states because it'll be very difficult and it will isolate the united states from iran turkey and eventually even iraq

met i'm going to turn what do you think the u.s. is up to here how are you gauging take us response on the military response. and i mean just literally three hours ago president are done he made an a very very strong speech and this has been the most inflammatory speech that he made is so far so i. think that to y.p. g. forces take a affiliated forces is an imminent threat for the security of turkey and is very firm on this issue with this rhetorical present and has been trying to emphasize underline this fact and there ma'am i have to say that. when taking into account the military situation on the ground it is very hard it's getting getting

increasingly hard at the moment and wait no one taking into ankara's firm stance against by p.g. . that i suggest that armed confrontation in the north of syria between turkish military or turkish military backed free syrian army forces and wipe each of forces is imminent at the scale of these armed confrontation is however is not debt or mind by ankara neither on current nor why p.j. but is going to be decided on the on two capitals first one is must go the second one is d.c. and the ones are the ones concerns about why p.g.d. justified is it as much of a threat to turkey as a consensus it to be i have to say that. to an eighteen year two thousand and eighteen is going to be a high probability is going to benediction years of course. in the strategic

rationale behind the his in for the majority toward it first one is surely it's because of the my support to call consumption but the second. point is also relevant i think turkey or anchor has been feel. a grave threat by being encircled by the terror belt or p.k. k. belt stretching from the north of. not then iraq starting from country in the region connecting syria to iraq we dosser to countenance in the west and in the east of your if it's arm into syria and carbonic antoine's and the canton in the west of europe it's arm in the club and canton saw uncle right on his you feeling under very big pressure on how to first prevent him from prevented this terror belt or protect a belt from happening and have to counter all the things going on in the north of

syria and get out and can your view that kurdish fear of these moves by the u.s. . well the move by the u.s. seemed to please the kurds in the region firstly because until now. that the alliance between the kurds and the us has been largely seen as transactional i mean certain u.s. officials have said that that relationship is a tactical relationship and is based on the defeat of isis but as we see now isis has largely been defeated in syria but this relationship is continuing the u.s. says that this is to maintain stability in the region and i think the kurds are pleased by this that this relationship can move forward from not just defeating isis but maintaining and as the ability in the wider region but also may be further down the line turn into a political relationship rather than just merely

a military one against a joint enemy so i think the step taken by the u.s. now with the border security force or further diplomatic relationships which seem to be also developing at the same time pleasing the kurds in syria specifically it because it makes an editor once said that chump had to choose between turkey and nato ally or the kurds the sort of move seems to suggest that trump and the u.s. have made up their mind when it comes to this relationship. yes i mean this is a clear message and president trying to increase its leverage in india post i said think there are three things to be done in syria at the moment first one is to tame. the second one is to balance iran's increasing influence particularly in the north of syria and the target one is. first marginalize and then element.

to ation in north of syria saw this in for these three tasks i think what the us controlling the east of your if it's and russia controlling the west of europe it's . been reliant on white p.g.a. as a coherent military force on the ground as an local proxy and pew id as a political actor to achieve this three object of so i'm going to has been seeing this and then uncle right now by pressuring by creating a sort of pressure on the saturday decision making mechanisms in the d.c. has been proposing this is grim or important a factor of nato the memberships and the traditional alliance between u.s. and turkey and just it seems by this move that the fact that the u.s. went ahead unilaterally that they have done nothing to appease the turks here and

therefore to do that now well that's the big question that's the million dollar question the united states does seem to be giving up turkey there is no doubt about it by supporting kurdish nationalism in northern syria. this is alienating turkey it's been driving turkey into the arms of russia as we've seen over the last few years turkey was hoping that that relationship u.s. kurdish relationship would begin to reverse once isis was destroyed that is not the case the united states is building an argument for remaining in northern syria. saudi arabia would like the united states remain there israel would like the united states to remain there to cut down assad's government and to deny the syrian government oil water and agricultural land that's what chopping syria into two and a bella ping a long term relationship with the kurds in the north helping them it to develop

greater independence will ultimately do it'll keep syria very weak this is a way to night iran the fruits of it's a victory in syria and also to bring russia down a notch so i think the united states is seeing this as a way to hurt its enemies russia and it won and to help its allies. both israel and saudi arabia the trouble is is that turkey is collateral damage here the united states' relationship with turkey is going from bad to worse and this dependence on the kurds is in a sense underlining that the united states unfortunately i believe has looked at turkey as a last partner that it's moved towards dictatorship greater islamist i'm less democracy is not something that's going to be reversed and that america can't reverse i think the united states the state department increasingly is writing off

turkish interests mentioning that it's going to that flat. i mean and to some extent are you agree with. the point i'm i'm trying to emphasize is this green fact foreign turkey for almost two weeks we see a sort of threat that you shift in the net that will for us this is you makers to know in particularly in the band they're talking to their activities in the east of you know if it's you know a wants and they were saying that the u.s. this is you make us american decision makers they were saying that and they are full cooperation with who y.p. . forces on the ground is very limited at the tactical level and only limited with the fight against isis but with this is a shift in strategy shift of this narrative of you know right now u.s. decision makers are talking about creation of an a standing army for border protection you know the army off to north to involving

around three thirty thousand you know combat proven soldiers what we are here talking about their emergence or a creation of an a standing army i think with this subject shift of the narrative raise the alarm it will say bells in an encore of this era of history see the advance of torso russia back as a force us. into a city center you know controlled by. radical elements within h.t.s. so our anchor also has been a little bit disturbed by this a recent development and this is some complaining about this advance this attack is to r.t. deep walt. create a sort of friction in the at any rate they are going all out here where i mean russia turkey and iran there's also want to do you want to talk about this way but

i mean this is quite a military force isn't the thirty thousand many countries don't have that do you think this will be that call of some sort of our military so if this is to go on. it may well be but i think i think the highlight here i think what we what we need to highlight is that the relationship between the u.s. and the kurds is going to continue and and this implies maybe not directly a nation building project by the u.s. but it definitely implies that there's going to be some sort of a consistent relationship in the short and medium term and i think another thing that we have to underline here is the turkish states the turkish nation state historic. this like towards kurdish aspirations in the region and as this relationship develops between the kurds and the u.s. and as this moves on from a nearly military relationship to a more diplomatic and political one which may well turn into

a strategic strategic relationship that turkey states reactions going to be more aggressive and i think that's what this whole rhetoric is mostly about yes i understand the international conjuncture and how the international relations are playing a huge part in this problem right now and i agree with joshua that and met him actually as well but this is going to be between moscow and d.c. but i think that there is a current that has to be highlighted here that the turkish states historically actions towards any sort of kurdish aspirations in terms of both autonomy or independence it's a severe aggression and this displeases that turkey the turkish state and i mean we saw this in iraq you kurdistan to the reflexes of the turkish state to iraq to kurdistan with similar yes they weren't as aggressive but they too at the same time

in iraq to kurdistan rule so against. the kurds of south iraqi kurdistan developing their nationalist aspirations and now with what's going on in north of the sea. with the u.s. until recently was saying the relationship with the cause is transactional but right now after the sea of isis i think the talk is that is beginning to understand and well see them to be gullible in this sense the the u.s. is going to maintain a longer relationship with the kurds and i agree with joshua yes this is at the expense of turkey the that the us is slowly less concerned about losing turkey to russia which previously the state department and the u.s. has always been worried about but i think that concern is much less now than what it used to be especially with the one at the helm this may change from what i was really scared about what he said on a change of attitude so that you raise that i mean the u.s.

was against the kurdistan the independence referendum and iraq and yet they seem to support this some that type of action if it ever way to get to that point in syria a real change in policy here isn't it it is it is and i think you're very right to bring up that comparison because many friends have been saying oh but they'll america will abandon the kurds in syria the way they have abandoned them in iraq now first of all i do not think the united states abandoned the kurds in iraq the referendum deal in which the baghdad government took care cook a disputed sit in america did not what some think that the united states had always told the kurds they couldn't have they could just take your books i don't think the united states abandoned the kurds in iraq but but that clearly the accusation has been made and this makes america more sensitive to abandoning the kurds in syria

the big difference is that america does not like assad and sees damascus as an enemy america's ally israel and saudi arabia both want to weaken. by staying and helping the kurds in northern syria the united states is hurting its enemies and helping its friends the united states sees baghdad as a friendly power and that they built the constitution the united states did help build a constitution and it's going to defend it in iraq in syria the united states believes it can use the kurds to gain a leverage over our side to fulfill the geneva process which the united states is trying to pursue a peace process that will allow the u.s. and its allies to gain important interests in damascus i don't believe it will succeed in this but i do believe the united states is committing itself in the

medium and short term to the kurds of northern syria and this is a big change and let me translate it like a pretty dangerous game doesn't that. threatening their former allies in a sense metson way do you think this leaves damascus or do you think bussell assad will say listen you know of all but cleaned up in syria it's nearly a victory for me i'm prepared to let this go. i'm inclined to buy this argument of the u.s. has been is now less concerned about ankara's interest and preordered prioritization in syria i am inclined to buy that argument the point i'm trying to emphasize is an important how can i say getting increasingly visible dynamic instrumentalists zation of the y.p. g as a coherent little of force on the ground and you idea as the political actors in the right will to read between russia and the yes in in in in the post isis setting

in syria so turkey has been or anchor has been trying to accommodate this to a system level actors they are. diverging interests which is getting harder and harder. you know passing months for again to anything i think where they can will be an indecisive year we will see whether turkey is going to accommodate. the interest of two system level actors you know one controlling us controlling the east of europe its russia controlling to rest of europe hits and they are right now also not an important dynamic at the end of january we have sochi you know meeting and if this will be any very very important meeting for turkey and the promotion of turkey's agenda in and in sochi we will see a major run or moscow will be happy with that or not so as i said before the

instrumentalists action of y p g. in the right will to read between russia and us in the future of syria i thing is an important dynamic that iran has is very. very digesting and if it is on the other lists they are running out of talent just one another will play this now because it could possibly be seen that curt's are one of the few when it's from the syrian war now. well i mean the kurds up until now have actually balance a good relationship with both the u.s. and russia and one must accept there's not or not many forces on the ground in the region that have been able to do this and yes the kurds since the outbreak of the conflict in syria have had relationships with both sides are currently still mintage maintaining a relationship with russia to the west of the euphrates and with the us to the east of the euphrates now what will happen if arab on does actually follow through with

his friends and attack afrin we know that the only way that could possibly happen is if russia allows. the turkish army to actually enter the city where opens up its airspace. to the turkish army and so i think if that does happen then there's going to be a difficult discussion between the kurds and russia then and both rush around the us understand the importance of having a healthy relationship with the kurds in syria and leave it there and that made me who had an affinity for that in syria many moving parts to the story thanks for discussing it with us very much get on ours can make it in go to john and joshua landis and thank you too for watching you can see the program again any time by visiting our website al-jazeera dot com for further discussion go to our facebook page at facebook dot com ford slash a.j. inside story you can also join the conversation on twitter handle is at a.j.

inside story from the jane data in the whole team here about an hour. on the fringes of some of the mega-cities. is perched on stilts. but the cities are beginning to develop even for terrorists who are. architects of the army is offering more sustainable solution to the communities hardest hit by the types of change. that to continue working. this time on a. new poll ranks mexico city is the pull first in the world for sexual violence many women are attacked while moving in the crowded spaces of the metro

buses and even at the hands of taxi drivers the conversation starts with do you have a boyfriend you're very pretty and young you feel unsafe threatened you think about how to react what do i do if this gets what no money on to use is a new service it's called lal drive it's for women passages only and drawn by women drivers pull for some extra features like a panic button and twenty four seventh's monitoring of drivers. this business. it's business look young river traders visit. the neither read nor write but they know there are some great teachers. to gamble with their. anything just the book risking it all to destroy one al-jazeera. facing

reality growing up when did you realize that you would living in a special place a so-called secret city getting to the heart of the matter the mean maher government calls you a gringo all the terrorist he had a story on to al-jazeera at this time. the palestine liberation organization calls for the recognition of israel to be suspended.