Turkey pledges to expand offensive against Kurds

BEIRUT — Turkey’s president on Monday vowed to expand military operations across northern Syria and even into neighboring Iraq after his forces drove Syrian Kurdish fighters from the northern Syrian town of Afrin.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Afrin campaign was the “most important phase” of a military operation launched on Jan. 20, which is aimed at driving Syrian Kurdish forces out of areas along the border with Turkey. Turkey views the Kurdish militiamen as terrorists because of their links to Kurdish insurgents fighting inside Turkey.

Erdogan said Turkish troops and allied Syrian forces would now press eastward, toward the town of Manbij and areas east of the Euphrates River, including the Kurdish town of Kobani. Those areas are controlled by U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces, and U.S. troops are stationed there.

“We’ll continue this process until we completely abolish this corridor,” Erdogan said. Turkey first launched military operations in Syria in 2016, and Erdogan has repeatedly said it will not allow a “terror corridor” along its border.

Erdogan said Turkish troops could also cross into Iraq to drive out Kurdish militants from the region of Sinjar, if the Iraqi government does not act against militants in the area. Turkey says the region is becoming a headquarters for outlawed Kurdish rebels who have been fighting an insurgency in Turkey’s southeast since 1984.

“One night, we could suddenly enter Sinjar,” Erdogan said in Ankara.

He said his forces might also go as far as Qamishli, a Syrian town where the Syrian government controls the airport and a security zone.

On Monday, the European Union’s top diplomat criticized Turkey over its military offensive in Afrin, calling on Ankara to work to halt the fighting in Syria. Federica Mogherini told reporters in Brussels that international efforts in Syria should be aimed at “de-escalating the military activities and not escalating them.”

Syrian Kurdish officials have said that more than 800 fighters were killed in the 58 days of fighting for Afrin, and estimated that 500 civilians were killed.