Turkish forces set for incursion into Syria
Howitzers, fighter jets hitting Kurdish militia for a week
Turkey’s army needs just a few days to be ready for a ground incursion into northern Syria, Turkish officials said, as Turkish forces bombarded a Kurdish militia across the border.
Howitzers fired daily from Turkey have struck Kurdish YPG targets for a week, while warplanes have carried out air strikes. The escalation comes after a deadly bomb attack in Istanbul two weeks ago that Ankara blamed on the YPG.
The YPG has denied involvement in the bombing and has responded at times to the cross-border attacks with mortar shelling.
“The Turkish Armed Forces need just a few days to become almost fully ready,” a senior official said, adding that Turkey-allied Syrian rebel fighters were ready for such an operation. “It won’t take long for the operation to begin. It depends only on the president giving the word.”
President Tayyip Erdogan said back in May that Turkey would soon launch a military operation against the YPG in Syria, but such an operation did not materialise.
The first Turkish official said a ground operation, targeting the areas of Manbij, Kobani and Tel Rifat, was inevitable to link up the areas brought under the control of Turkey and its Syrian allies with incursions since 2016.
Ankara had been in contact with Moscow and Washington about its military activities. The US has told Nato member Turkey it has serious concerns that an escalation would affect the goal of fighting Daesh militants in Syria.
Russia asked Turkey to refrain from a full-scale ground offensive.