‘Operation Peace Spring’ continues despite international objections
Europe tells Turkey to ‘show restraint and halt its military operations in northeastern Syria’
With the Turkish military beginning a ground incursion into northeastern Syria on Wednesday, several villages in Tal
Abyad and Ras Al-Ain, two Arab-majority towns in the region, changed hands.
The Turkish Army, accompanied by the Syrian National Army, reportedly reached a depth of 8 km by midnight, with some 109 YPG/ SDF militants killed during the opening movements of Operation Peace Spring.
The operation was not harshly criticized by NATO, whose secretary-general said that Turkey has legitimate security concerns. However, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday called Ankara to show restraint and halt its military operations in Syria.
“If the plan involves the creation of a so-called safe zone, do not expect the EU to pay for any of it,” he said. In a press conference on Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blasted the EU’s stance: “If you call this operation an invasion, then we could just open the gates and send 3.6 million Syrian refugees back to Europe.”
Erdogan guaranteed that neither the Turkish nor Syrian forces would harm civilians or their property in northern Syria.
“Anyone who wants to leave the YPG, we welcome them whether they are Kurds or Arabs,” he said.
TURKISH EXPANSION
Civilians of the region began escaping the unfolding chaos.
Simon Waldman, associate fellow at the British think tank the Henry Jackson Society and visiting fellow at King’s College London, said the ongoing operation is nothing less than an attempt to kill two birds with one stone: Solving the question of the future of Syrian refugees in Turkey while also dealing with the presence of the YPG, which Ankara claims is directly affiliated with the PKK. “They are using Turkish troops and Syrian proxy militias to invade, set up a security zone of at least 30 km and resettle Arab Syrian refugees in the captured land. This is despite knowing that it will cause untold civilian casualties and displace up to hundreds of thousands,” he told Arab News.
US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham announced he planned to produce a comprehensive sanctions package against Turkey, hitting Ankara’s defense and energy sectors as well as top Turkish officials, including Erdogan.
In a tweet on Oct. 8, Graham warned Turkey of “sanctions from hell” if it carries an operation into northeast Syria, suggesting “wide, deep, and devastating sanctions.” According to Waldman, the US sanctions package itself is strong, but ineffectual considering the mixed messages coming from Congress and the White House: “They are only effective when they together send a clear message along with international partners in Europe.” Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani asked Turkey to consider dialogue rather than operations, and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on Ankara to respect the territorial integrity of Syria. Ali Larijani, the Parliament speaker of Iran, cancelled his scheduled visit to Turkey. “Despite the Astana Framework, Turkey and Iran’s wider geopolitical interests are not aligned,” Michael Tanchum, senior fellow at AIES, an Austrian research institute, told Arab News.