Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday urged the al-Qaeda-linked jihadist rebels who overthrew Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to consider cooperating with Turkish forces against the Kurds.
Fidan: “Rebels must unite now” said — which meant all “rebels” except the Kurds.
“We hope that they can come together and start working in an orderly manner in order to have a good transition period to end and involve all parties in Syria,” he said.
Fidan said Turkey's top priorities are “a peaceful transition, preserving Syria's territorial integrity and curbing the influence of Syria's Kurdish groups.”
“This is my important message to you: avoid bloodshed. All communities in Syria must be included,” he said, again meaning all communities except Kurds. .
Fidan said Turkey is ready to work with allied Syrian militias to defeat both the Islamic State and the Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which Turkey also considers terrorists. He even said that there was. Threats like ISIS.
“We are closely monitoring Daesh and the PKK to ensure that they do not take advantage of this situation,” Fidan said. “We are in contact with our American partners. They understand how sensitive we are to this issue.”
“Daesh” is another name for ISIS. The PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) is a violent separatist Kurdish organization in Turkey. The Turkish government considers all Kurdish armed groups in Syria, including those backed by the United States, to be allies or offshoots of the PKK.
Turkey has carried out some intrusion Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Turkey has invaded Syria with the aim of forcing Syrian Kurdish militias from the Turkish border. During these operations, Turkey alliance It is affiliated with several militias opposed to the Syrian government and operates under the collective name Syrian National Army (SNA). Parts of the Syrian National Army received support from the Obama administration when they called themselves the “Free Syrian Army.”
When jihadist rebels led by the al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) arrived in Hama, the SNA sprang into action, sensing an opportunity to seize territory for itself. SNA units quickly advanced It advanced more than 190 miles late last week, moving south from the Turkish border and capturing the town of Rastan.
The SNA is fractious and loosely organized, despite Turkey's years-long efforts to develop it into a more cohesive fighting force. Many Syrians see the SNA as little more than mercenaries hired by Turkey to secure land in the Kurdish exclusion zone. The SNA unit is accused Human rights violations against Kurds living in Türkiye-occupied Syria.
On Monday, SNA announced It controls Manbij, a city on the west side of the Euphrates River in northern Syria, which Kurdish forces had occupied since liberating it from Islamic State in 2016.
witness reported Heavy fighting broke out between the SNA and SDF in Manbij over the weekend. Turkish-backed militias reportedly received help from “sleeper cells” living inside Kurdish-controlled cities. Currently, there are no US troops stationed in Manbij.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday welcomed The goal is to “liberate” Manbij and another town, Tell Rifaat, from the control of Kurdish “terrorists.”
“The sole purpose of our cross-border operations is to protect our homeland and people from terrorist attacks,” he said. said After the cabinet meeting in Ankara.
Erdogan accused President Bashar Assad of “arrogantly” rejecting Turkey's calls for cooperation and dialogue and failing to address the humanitarian plight of Syrians, many of whom have taken refuge in Turkey.
“The Turkish state will forever have the honor of hosting the Syrian people who were oppressed during the dark ages,” he said. “Our sensitivity towards Syria is never based on self-interest. We have always considered this issue from the perspective of conscience and have always approached it with compassion.”
“We believe that the strong winds of change sweeping across Syria will bring positive outcomes for the Syrian people, especially refugees,” he declared. “As of yesterday, dark times have ended and brighter days have begun in Syria.”
Kurdish group in northeastern Syria issued statement On Sunday, he called on Syrians to “defend the achievements” of the Kurdish regime in their cities. They also called for an “inclusive national dialogue” to build a “pluralistic, decentralized and democratic Syria.”
“The SDF has proven itself to be an inclusive national force dedicated to the protection of the people of all its diversity and committed to pluralism and democracy as the foundation on which Syria's future will be built,” the statement said. The Self-Defense Forces as an organization.
The SDF disputed SNA claims that it had captured Manbij, but acknowledged that the SDF fought Turkish-backed SNA militias over control of Manbij. The SDF said Turkish jets supported the SNA by bombing parts of Manbij.
regional analyst said Reuters reported on Monday that there was a serious risk that Syria would fall apart after the fall of Assad, just as Libya fell apart after the death of Muammar Gaddafi.
“Each of these rebel groups is vying for supremacy. Each wants to be in charge. Each thinks he too can be Bashar al-Assad and is funding his own group. They have pledged allegiance to foreign political parties. Unless the United Nations and some influential regional countries work toward unification, the two countries will come into conflict,” said Abdelaziz al-Sagar, director of the Gulf Studies Center. I warned you.
