Building dispute

10 October 2019 By Dasha Afanasieva Follow @dasha_reuters

President Tayyip Erdogan hopes attacking Kurdish militia will enable him to send Syrian refugees home and launch a $27 billion construction drive. A severe humanitarian fallout could lead to tougher U.S. reprisals. But if Turkey can avoid these it would help its battered economy.

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Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel allies attacked Kurdish militia in northeast Syria on Oct. 9, days after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled American troops out of the area.

Ankara has long wanted to create a “buffer zone” in the area where it can begin to send some of the 3.6 million Syrians who have fled to Turkey because of the civil war. President Tayyip Erdogan has set out ambitious proposals to build dozens of new villages and towns to settle Syrian refugees.

State broadcaster TRT estimated the cost of his plans for northeast Syria would be 151 billion lira ($27 billion).

Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen on Oct. 9 unveiled an outline for proposed sanctions on Turkey, including targeting Erdogan’s U.S. assets and imposing visa restrictions.

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