FOR I.S. ASSAULT
Turkish officials have issued veiled threats that they would shut down allied operations at Incirlik Air Base, the major air hub for US and allied warplanes in the battle. Ankara views the YPG as a “terror group” linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party separatists, who have waged an insurgency since 1984 that has killed more than 40,000 people inside Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met US President Donald Trump in Washington for the first time on May 16, where the issue of US support for the YPG was discussed, the Turkish foreign minister said.
“The president clearly expressed our position and concerns during his Washington visit. It was stressed how risky and dangerous the support given to the YPG was. These weapons could be used against all humanity, not just Turkey,” Cavusoglu said.
To address Turkish concerns that the arms might be used against them after the fight for Raqqa was over, the supply of weapons and ammunition would be limited to what the Kurds and Arab fighters needed to carry out specific operations, Dillon said.
“Wherever possible, our advisers will monitor the use of the weapons and supplies we give the Kurdish elements of the SDF, ensuring use only against IS,” he said.
“Any alleged misuse or diversion of US support will be taken seriously and lead to the possible curtailment of support, if verified.”
Some Syria analysts said on Wednesday that the militias would need to include more members of local Sunni Arab tribes to maintain the fighting force’s potency after the battle for Raqqa, if they aimed to vanquish pockets of remaining IS resistance in the region.
“Arming the Kurdish elements of the SDF will make them more militarily effective against IS in Raqqa,” said Andrew J. Tabler, an expert on Syria at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, but, he added: “if they don’t expand to include more of the Sunni Arab tribes of the Euphrates River valley, who make up the majority there, the SDF will have a hard time holding that area because of the Kurdish-Arab split, leaving that area vulnerable to an Assad regime comeback.”
Thousands of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters have pushed to within about 3.2km of the city, where US military officials and humanitarian groups are bracing for a bloody, months-long battle — similar to the fight Iraqi forces have carried out in Mosul, another IS stronghold.
In preparation for the assault, US and allied warplanes have intensified airstrikes against militant forces in and around Raqqa in recent weeks.
At the same time, the Kurdish and Arab militias, which US Special Operations forces are advising, have been tightening a rough cordon around most of the city, capturing dozens of small towns and villages as they go.
The fighters have surrounded Raqqa from the north, west and east. The extremists still have an exit from the south, even though the US-led coalition destroyed two southern bridges over the Euphrates River. Agencies
Wherever possible, our advisers will monitor the use of the weapons and supplies we give the Kurdish elements of the SDF, ensuring use only against IS.