Turkish military begins crossing into Syria
Set to force back Kurdish troops
ISTANBUL: The first Turkish troops have crossed into northeastern Syria in preparation for a full-scale offensive to force back Kurdish militants controlling the border area, a Turkish official said, days after President Donald Trump said the US wouldn’t stand in the way.
A small forward group of Turkish forces entered Syria early yesterday at two points along the frontier, close to the Syrian towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Turkish lira weakened after the news, trading 0.3% lower at 5.8445 per dollar at 12pm in Istanbul. Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said “deployments and work is still underway regarding the operation”, according to state-run TRT television.
Kurdish-led forces were on high alert and called on fighters to head for the frontier to defend the region against the Turkish offensive that is expected to involve tens of thousands of soldiers backed by tanks and armoured personnel carriers from Nato’s secondlargest army.
Turkey’s advance follows a dramatic reversal of US policy this week. Mr Trump told Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call on Sunday that dozens of American troops who’d been working closely with Kurdish forces in the fight against Islamic State would pull back, effectively clearing the way for a Turkish incursion.
The White House statement appeared to surprise allies at home and abroad. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said they would defend their “own people”, potentially relegating the battle against Islamic State.
The Kurdish YPG militia that forms the backbone of the SDF has been one of America’s closest partners in the fight against Islamic State and is holding tens of thousands of jihadist fighters and their families in camps and detention centres in northeastern Syria.
While Mr Trump said Turkey would become responsible for the detainees, who include foreign fighters from Europe, it was not clear if there was a mechanism in place to transfer them to Turkish custody.
Analysts and officials have raised concerns that chaos in northeastern Syria would allow Islamic State members to escape and regroup.
Meanwhile, Syria’s Kurds have said in the past that they would consider a deal with Mr Assad if the US withdraws.
Turkey’s offensive into northern Syria first aims to surround towns in a strip of border territory, before pushing further south in an effort to dismantle any chance of a Kurdish state emerging on its doorstep, according to two Turkish officials, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive military planning.
The first targets will be the Syrian towns of Kobani, Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn, all held by the YPG and located along the former Berlin-Baghdad railway that for hundreds of miles forms the frontier with Turkey, according to the officials.