Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has renewed military operations in the Syrian-Iraqi border region to fight the PKK, a violent Marxist Kurdish separatist group that Erdogan’s government considers a major threat to Turkey’s security. Looks like they’re preparing for an invasion.
President Erdogan said after a cabinet meeting last week that he was preparing decisive operations against PKK strongholds in Syria and Iraq.
“Hopefully this summer, we will see a permanent solution to the issue on the Iraqi border. Our intention to build a 30-40 km deep security corridor along the Syrian border remains unchanged,” Erdoğan said. said.
“We are preparing to give another nightmare to those who want to subjugate Turkey to ‘terrorists’ along its southern border,” he added.
According to Turkish independent media outlet Duvar, the Turkish military has already crossed They crossed the Iraqi border and moved about 30 kilometers inland. Airstrikes against PKK strongholds in Iraq and Syria have continued since January 12, when nine Turkish soldiers were killed. PKK raid At a military outpost in Iraq’s Kurdistan Autonomous Region.
The attack, coupled with the killing of 12 Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq three weeks ago, prompted Turkish officials to vow to “fight to the end” to eradicate the PKK.
President Erdoğan laid the groundwork for the latest cross-border offensive against the PKK by sending a special envoy to meet with officials from Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the United States and Russia. President Erdoğan met personally with KRG President Nichiruban Barzani on March 1.
Dubar said Erdogan is waiting for either the end of the Islamic Ramadan holiday or Iraq’s March 31 local elections before triggering a major military operation against the PKK. He cited multiple sources. President Erdogan expects the operation to be completed by the end of the summer.
Kurdish media had expected Erdogan to take action in mid-April after consulting with the Iraqi government on oil and water supply issues. Iraq has long complained that Turkey’s aggressive dam construction along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is exacerbating the drought. The Iraqis may demand some concessions from Turkey before giving the green light for an invasion against the Kurds.
monday bloomberg news report Turkey is also trying to convince Iraq that it is in its best interest to destroy the PKK, as the PKK’s ultimate goal is to carve out an independent Kurdish state from Turkish and Iraqi territory.
Bloomberg speculates that Erdogan may also be motivated by a desperate need to “strengthen nationalist support” ahead of Turkey’s next elections. That’s because President Erdoğan’s AKP party has performed poorly in major cities such as Istanbul and Ankara over the past few election cycles. Only a dramatic response to the PKK attack that killed Turkish soldiers can continue to draw nationalists into President Erdogan’s ruling coalition.
As for Syria, diplomacy with dictator Bashar al-Assad remains low-key, but Duval sources say the Turkish government is “stepping up efforts” to persuade Assad to support anti-PKK operations.
Erdogan also wants the US to end support for the Syrian Kurdish militia People’s Protection Units (YPG/YPJ), which is considered a key ally in the fight against Islamic State. Turkey considers the YPG to be an ally of the PKK.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued A report from late February accused Turkey of abuses and possible war crimes against the Kurdish population in northern Syria. Some of these abuses were allegedly carried out by Syrian militias allied with Turkey.
“Unless Turkey itself takes responsibility and takes action to stop the ongoing abuses, including torture and enforced disappearances, against people living under Turkish authority in northern Syria,” said HRW Middle East deputy director Adam Kugl. This will continue in the future.”
“Turkish officials are not mere bystanders to abuses; they bear responsibility as an occupying power. In some cases, they are directly involved in clear war crimes,” Kugl charged.
