Turkey warns of Syrian ‘division’ as regime targets Eastern Ghouta
ANKARA: Turkey vowed to press ahead with a military offensive in northern Syria on Monday, even as Damascus prepared to send forces to the area in what could be a major escalation in the seven-year civil war.
Tensions over the future of Afrin, near Aleppo, were threatening to boil over as the Syrian regime prepared to send militias to the enclave to help Kurdish insurgents counter a month-long Turkish offensive.
Ankara, however, is refusing to back down and end a military campaign that it claims is aimed at rooting out terrorists who threaten its national security.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag warned on Monday that any move by Damascus to deploy forces to Afrin could pave the way for Syria’s division.
The standoff came after another bloody 24 hours in the long-running conflict, with Syrian government forces also laying siege to the rebel-held area of eastern Ghouta, near Damascus.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 71 people were killed and 325 wounded as the regime of President Bashar Assad fired shells and launched air strikes on a pocket of satellite towns and farms.
But it is the situation in Afrin that could have severe implications for the rest of the region, with analysts warning that the latest developments will add a further layer of complexity to a war that continues to ensnare major world powers, including the US, Russia, Israel and Iran.
Turkey’s offensive, “Operation Olive Branch,” began on Jan. 20, with the aim of targeting Kurdish militants, including members of the YPG and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
Middle East researcher Mete Sohtaoglu told Arab News that Ankara would not be pressured into ending its offensive early.
“Throughout the operation, Turkey has always set up observation and military posts in the areas it has captured, so it cannot be expected to withdraw immediately,” he said.
A YPG spokesman, Nouri Mahmoud, told Reuters that “no agreement” had been reached with Damascus.
“There is only a call from us for the Syrian army to come in and protect the borders,” he said.