Erdogan turns his guns on the Kurds
Ankara sends more tanks into Syria and launches air strikes on Kurdish militias as it intensifies efforts to push them from border
KARKAMIS, TURKEY // Turkish forces backed by tanks clashed with pro- Kurdish fighters in northern Syria yesterday, as Ankara stepped up its offensive to drive ISIL and the Kurds from its border.
The clashes took place 8 kilo- metres south of Jarabulus, the border town recaptured from ISIL last week by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels.
“Turkish tanks advanced today near Al Amarneh in Aleppo province, south of the border, and clashes broke out between them and fighters backed by Kurdish forces,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Kurdish-backed rebels said Turkey had carried out air strikes on them. “With this aggression a new conflict will begin in the region,” said the Jarabulus Military Council, which is linked to the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces.
The army struck a weapons arsenal and command post belonging to “terror groups”, Turkey’s Anadolu state new agency said.
Turkey is intensifying its offensive inside Syria four days after it launched Operation Euphrates Shield against ISIL and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units militia, known as the YPG.
On Thursday, Turkey shelled Syrian Kurdish targets near Jarabulus in what was regarded as a warning to retreat.
Six more tanks crossed into Syria yesterday at the Turkish border village of Karkamis, adding to the dozens already there, along with hundreds of troops.
Turkey fiercely opposes moves by the YPG to expand into territory lost by ISIL. Ankara fears the emergence of an autonomous Kurdish region in Syria would bolster Kurdish rebels in south-eastern Turkey.
Its campaign against the Kurds puts it at odds with the US, a Nato ally that supports the YPG as an effective force against ISIL.
In Syria’s north-west, fighting continued to rage between Syrian government forces and rebels in the battered city of Aleppo, despite tentative plans for a 48hour ceasefire. At least 15 civilians were killed in barrel bomb attacks by regime aircraft on the rebel-held Maadi district in the city’s east, the Observatory said.
The UN’s Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura called on parties in Aleppo to say today whether they would commit to a two-day truce to allow in aid after weeks of fighting that has killed hundreds.
Mr de Mistura voiced regret that some opposition forces were baulking at the plan, which has been endorsed by Russia, a staunch ally of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad.
Russia and the US signalled progress towards a deal on a ceasefire at marathon talks in Geneva on Friday. “Today I can say that we achieved clarity on the path forward” for a revamped ceasefire, said John Kerry, the US secretary of state.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said that “very important steps” had been made on a deal to stop the violence. Russia has been backing the Syrian government forces with air strikes on rebel- held areas. The US supports Syria’s main opposition alliance and some other rebel factions.
Turkey’s offensive in Syria adds yet another layer to the tangled web of powers jockeying for influence in the country. Ankara said that the YPG had failed to stick to a promise to return across the Euphrates River after advancing west this month.
Yesterday, Turkish- backed rebels continued their clean-up operations in Jarabulus, which they wrested from ISIL on Wednesday without significant resistance.
Anadolu said the rebels were destroying mines planted by ISIL.