Pentagon cautions Turkey over new operation against Syrian Kurds
ANKARA: Any unilateral military action in northern Syria would be ‘ unacceptable’, the Pentagon said after Turkey announced it would launch an operation against a US-backed Kurdish militia.
The warning came after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would soon begin a mission targeting the Kurdish People’s Protection Units ( YPG), which Ankara considers a ‘terrorist’ group.
“We will start an operation to free the east of the Euphrates from the separatist terrorist organisation in the next few days,” Erdogan said during a speech in Ankara, referring to territory held by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units ( YPG).
American forces have worked closely with the YPG under the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, which has played a key role in the war against the Islamic State ( IS) extremist group.
The Pentagon has repeatedly warned that any fighting between the Turks and the SDF is a dangerous distraction from the core US mission in Syria of fighting IS.
Pentagon spokesman Commander Sean Robertson said any unilateral military action in northeast Syria would be a ‘grave concern’, as it could potentially jeopardise US troops working with the SDF in the region.
“We would find any such actions unacceptable,” he said in a statement.
Turkey says the YPG is a ‘terrorist offshoot’ of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party ( PKK), which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
PKK is blacklisted as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.
“The target is never American soldiers but terrorist organisation members active in the region,” Erdogan told the audience at a defence industry summit.
American forces are with the SDF east of the Euphrates as well as in the flashpoint city of Manbij, which is west of the river.
“We should not and cannot allow ( IS) to breathe at this critical point or we will jeopardise the significant gains we have made alongside our coalition partners and risk allowing ( IS) to resurge,” Robertson said.
The YPG also said a Turkish offensive would be to the benefit of IS.
“The (Turkish) threats coincide with the advance of our forces against the terrorists, this time with the entrance into the town of Hajin,” YPG spokesman Nuri Mahmud said.
The SDF launched an offensive on September 10 to expel IS from the Hajin pocket, on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River close to the Iraqi border.
“Any attack on the north of Syria will have a direct impact on the battle of Hajin.
The forces who are fighting (there) will return to defend their areas and their families,” Mahmud said. — AFP