Rebels will back Turkey’s Afrin operation

President Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday that Turkey’s planned military operation against Kurdish militia forces in Syria’s Afrin region will be supported by Syrian rebel fighters.

In recent days, Erdogan has repeatedly warned of an imminent incursion in Afrin after the USled coalition said it was working with the mainly Kurdish YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to set up a new 30,000-strong border force. The plan has infuriated Turkey, which considers the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group, which has fought an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984. The PKK is considered a terrorist group by the European Union, Turkey and the US.

Asked if Syrian rebels would be involved in the operation against Afrin, Erdogan told reporters in parliament: “Of course, they will, together. This struggle is being conducted for them. Not for us.”

Speaking at a meeting of Nato top brass in Brussels, armed forces chief General Hulusi Akar said Turkey will not allow the YPG to receive support and said Nato should not differentiate between terrorist groups. personal view is that in its current shape, it is unacceptable to attend Sochi.”

When asked about US plans to help support a 30,000-strong force dominated by the mainly Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), he said it could open the door to the future partition of Syria.