STOCKSHOTS OF Turkish presence in Syria STOCKSHOTS OF Turkish presence in Syria. While Syria's Kurds have largely stayed out of their country's eight-year war, they have set up their own institutions in a semi-autonomous region in its northeast. Across the border, Turkey has eyed this push for increased independence with suspicion, regarding Kurdish fighters there as "terrorists". To keep any Kurdish expansion in check, Turkey has launched two campaigns in Syria since 2016. Last year it seized the key Kurdish enclave of Afrin after months of deadly bombardment.\\n\\n STOCK SHOTS