Trump warns Turkish leader of possible clash
Ankara threatens Kurds in Syria in area near U.S. forces.
Turkey’s president on Wednesday vowed to expand Ankara’s operation against Kurdish forces in northern Syria beyond the enclave of Afrin and toward the town of Manbij, which would bring Turkish troops and their Syrian allies closer to U.S. forces supporting the Kurds against the Islamic State group.
President Donald Trump, in a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, warned Turkey against taking steps that could risk military conflict between U.S. and Turkish forces in Syria and urged the Turkish leader to limit the operation and civilian casualties.
The White House said Trump expressed concerns about the growing violence and told Erdogan it jeopardizes shared U.S.-Turkish goals in Syria and expressed concern about “destructive and false rhetoric coming from Turkey.” It did not elaborate on that rhetoric.
Erdogan’s office said the Turkish leader urged Trump in the phone call to halt the U.S. supply of weapons to the Syrian Kurdish militia. He also told Trump that Turkey’s offensive seeks to rid Afrin of “terrorist elements” and protect Turkey’s national security.
A senior U.S. official, speaking earlier, said Washington is concerned that Turkey’s military offensive against Afrin could distract from the fight against IS and be exploited by extremists to resupply or create safe havens.
The official told reporters in Ankara on Wednesday that the Syrian Kurdish fighters in Afrin are not part of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which drove IS from much of northeastern Syria with the help of the U.S.-led coalition.
Regarding threats to expand the offensive to Manbij, the official said Washington’s “number one concern is the safety and security of troops in the vicinity.” U.S. forces are based in Kurdish-held parts of northeastern Syria, including near Manbij, but not in or near Afrin.
Turkey launched an incursion Saturday into Afrin, which is controlled by a Kurdish militia known as the People’s Defense Units, or YPG. Ankara views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdish insurgency in Turkey. The YPG forms the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Any move toward Manbij would bring NATO member Turkey and its Syrian allies closer to U.S. forces, threatening friction. The U.S. has urged Turkey to exercise restraint. Erdogan vowed to “foil games along our borders, starting from Manbij.”
“We will clean our region from this trouble completely,” he told officials at a meeting in Ankara. “This operation will continue until the last member of the terror organization is neutralized.”
Syrian Kurdish forces captured Manbij, which is west of the Euphrates River, from IS in 2016 with the help of the U.S.-led coalition. Turkey has long demanded that the Kurdish fighters withdraw to the eastern bank of the river, and U.S. forces have patrolled the area to reduce tensions.
In Turkey, two people were killed and 11 were hurt on Wednesday evening after two rockets fired from inside Syria hit a mosque and a home in the border town of Kilis, said local Gov. Mehmet Tekinarslan.
Turkish TV images showed the rocket that struck the mosque had pierced through its dome. The private NTV station showed people inside the mosque frantically trying to clear the rubble.