Hopes for Syria ceasefire dim as Turkey shells Kurds
BEIRUT: Hopes for a ceasefire taking hold in Syria this week dimmed Sunday as Turkey renewed its shelling of advancing Kurdish militants and Washington demanded Moscow end air strikes on rebels.
Tensions over Syria have continued to mount despite the proposal from international powers in Munich on Friday for a “cessation of hostilities” within a week.
Defying US and French calls, Turkey on Sunday carried out a second day of shelling on a Kurdish-Arab alliance advancing in northern Aleppo province, prompting condemnation from Syria’s government.
And in a telephone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey will continue to strike back at Kurdish fighters of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria.
Turkey says it is targeting Kurdish forces it accuses of links to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.
A statement from Davutoglu’s office said he told Merkel that Ankara “will not permit the PYD to carry out aggressive acts. Our security forces gave the necessary response and will continue to do so”.
Washington has been working closely with Kurdish forces in northern Syria, and the Turkish attacks highlighted tensions within the US-led coalition battling the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.
Differences were also clear between Washington and Moscow, which backs international diplomatic efforts to resolve the Syria conflict but has also launched air strikes in support of President Bashar al-Assad, a key ally.
The White House said Sunday that President Barack Obama in a phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had urged Moscow to end the strikes.
“President Obama emphasised the importance now of Russia playing a constructive role by ceasing its air campaign against moderate opposition forces in Syria,” it said.
Russia has long insisted that it targets only “terrorist” groups in Syria.
The Turkish shell in gin northern Syria has added to an already complicated situation in Aleppo province, where regime forces have made significant advances with backing from Russian air strikes.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed Kurdish-Arab militia alliance, has also advanced, seizing the Minnigh air base and battling for Tal Rifaat, a town held by mostly Islamist opposition fighters just 20 kilometres from the border.