Turkish military launches offensive into Syria
U.S.-backed operation marks a significant increase in Turkey’s fight against Daesh
ISTANBUL— Turkey mounted its largest military effort yet in the Syrian conflict on Wednesday, sending tanks, warplanes and special operations forces over the border in a U.S.backed drive to capture a Daesh stronghold in Syria.
The joint offensive on the city of Jarabulus, one of the last border strongholds of Daesh, also known as ISIS and ISIL, began hours before U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden was to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, Turkey’s capital. The timing seemed aimed at easing tensions between the two countries raised by the failed coup in Turkey last month.
The operation, clearing the way for a force of about 500 Syrian rebels to take the border town, represented a significant escalation of Turkey’s role in the fight against Daesh. But it also seemed as much about contain- ing the territorial ambitions of Syrian Kurdish militias, which Turkey sees as its primary enemy in the conflict and which were poised to move against Jarabulus.
Biden addressed those concerns at a news conference after his meeting with Erdogan, saying the Syrian Kurds, a U.S. ally in the fight against Daesh militants, would have to withdraw to the eastern side of the Eu- phrates River.
“We have made it clear to Kurdish forces that they must move back across the river,” he said. “They cannot and will not get American support if they do not keep that commitment. Period.”
Turkey has signalled in recent days that it is prepared to take a more aggressive diplomatic role in Syria, working alongside Iran, Russia and the United States to seek an end to the war.
Ankara has long insisted that the Syrian president, Bashar Assad — who is backed by Iran and Russia — would have to step down before peace talks could be held. But lately, Turkey has softened its stance, signalling that it would accept a role for Assad during a peaceful transition.
While some analysts initially thought the operation on Wednesday had been carried out with Assad’s assent, in the early afternoon, the Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned it as a breach of Syria’s sovereignty.
Although U.S. warplanes joined the Turkish forces in Jarabulus, the operation masked deep tensions between the NATO allies over Syria.
Turkish officials, including the foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, warned that their country could ultimately end up fighting the Syrian Kurds. Recently, the Americans backed a group of fighters, mostly Syrian Kurds, in retaking the town of Manbij, not far from Jarabulus but west of the Euphrates.
To allay Turkish concerns, U.S. officials warned the Kurds against advancing on Jarabulus, and said they would not support a move on the city with U.S. air power.
Turkish officials indicated that the operation on Wednesday sought, in part, to warn Kurds working in Syria alongside U.S. Special Operations Forces against marching on Jarabulus. The assault came days after Turkey vowed to “cleanse” its borders of Daesh, after a deadly suicide attack at a Kurdish wedding, which killed at least 54 people. The militant group was blamed for the attack.
Jarabulus is a vital supply line for Daesh and one of its last remaining strongholds on the border.
The timing of the operation could ease some of the tensions between the U.S. and Turkey over the recent failed coup, which have reduced relations to one of their lowest points since the Second World War.
Anti-American sentiment reached a fever pitch in Turkey, as pro-government news outlets and government officials have sought to link the United States with the coup plot.
Further inflaming relations is the status of Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric in self-exile in Pennsylvania whom Turkey accuses of leading the coup plot.