Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday warned Syrian Kurdish militias to either lay down their weapons or be “buried.” The Turkish military announced on the same day that it had killed 21 Kurdish militants in northern Syria and Iraq. Among them were members of the People's Protection Units (YPG), Syria's main Kurdish force allied with the United States against the Islamic State group.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other Turkish officials have stubbornly maintained for years that the YPG is affiliated with or merely an offshoot of the violent separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). PKK is banned in Turkey classified It is treated as a terrorist organization by many other countries, including the United States.
However, most other countries consider the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia to be a separate organization from the PKK. The YPG contributed to the fight against ISIS and continues to play a leadership role in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an ally of the United States.
erdogan repeated Turkey said in a statement to members of the ruling AKP party on Wednesday that the YPG and PKK are one and the same.
“The separatist killers will either bid farewell to their weapons or be buried with them on Syrian soil,” he said.
“We will eliminate the terrorist organizations that are trying to build a wall of blood between us and our Kurdish brothers,” he added, calling for a distinction between the YPG militia and civilian Kurds, whom Turkey insists is safe.
Last week, the SDF acknowledged for the first time that PKK fighters are in Syria and cooperating with the Islamic State group, although the SDF has maintained that it has no operational links to the PKK.
Commander-in-Chief of the Self-Defense Forces Mazlum Abdi said Reuters reported last week that Kurdish fighters arrived in Syria from across the Middle East to protect Kurdish lands from Islamic State, including members of the PKK. He said many PKK fighters returned home after the fall of ISIS, but some “decided to stay and help us.”
Abdi said he agreed with Turkey's demand that non-Syrian Kurdish fighters must withdraw from Syria, but that a “complete ceasefire between us and Turkish forces and associated forces” would take place. He said it would not be possible until then.
“In the meantime, we are prepared to repel any attack,” Abdi said.
The large-scale attack Abdi described has not yet occurred, but on Wednesday the Turkish Defense Ministry said said 21 Kurdish militants, including members of the PKK and YPG, have been killed by Turkish forces in northern Syria. One Kurdish fighter was also killed in Iraq.
Türkiye's defense ministry said: “Our operations will continue effectively and resolutely.”
Some of Turkey's colleagues in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are growing displeased with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's war against the Kurds. On Monday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Birbock said: warned Turkey could benefit from a resurgence of ISIS by weakening Syrian Kurdish forces, he said.
“No one will be helped if Islamic State terrorists benefit from the conflict with the Kurds. This will pose a security threat to Syria, Turkey and Europe,” Barbock said. Ta.
writing with the hill Georgetown University adjunct professor David L. Phillips said Thursday. claimed It is time for the United States to stand up for its Kurdish allies in Syria.
Phillips writes:
The defeat of ISIS is still in progress. Kurds are guarding thousands of ISIS prisoners in northeastern Syria. If redeployed to counter a Turkish invasion, the SDF will have to make tough choices between protecting families from a Turkish-backed invasion and monitoring ISIS detainees. Protecting their homes and families will be a priority.
In fact, Turkey has an answer to that argument in the form of Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. claimed that Last weekend, it became clear that Syria's rebel government is perfectly capable of running ISIS prison camps.
Phillips said the Kurds have provided an “island of stability in chaos” by providing a constituent government in northeastern Syria during the civil war, and that the United States has abandoned an effective ally that has largely followed the United States. He warned that the U.S. “will suffer damage to its reputation” if it does. A model for counter-extremist government.
“If we abandon the Kurds now, who will join the U.S.-led counterinsurgency effort?” he wondered.
“This dangerous moment calls for moral clarity. The Kurds are an ally of the United States and a friend who shares strategic interests and values. The Kurds are a force for good in Anatolia and Mesopotamia. “To protect America's interests and reputation, the U.S. government must prevent Turkish aggression,” he said.
The moribund Biden administration has said little about the Syrian Kurdish issue, but a bipartisan bill has been introduced in the Senate that would impose sanctions if Turkey launches a major operation against the SDF.
