Turkey set to invade Kurdish-held northern Syria ‘at any moment’ in massive operation to seize captured ISIS fighters
TURKISH President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed this morning his army was poised to launch military operations against Kurdish militants at any moment and “without warning”. The tough talk came after Donald Trump gave him the go-ahead to invade Northern Syria and seize the thousands of ISIS fighters captured over the past two years. “There is […]
TURKISH President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed this morning his army was poised to launch military operations against Kurdish militants at any moment and “without warning”.
The tough talk came after Donald Trump gave him the go-ahead to invade Northern Syria and seize the thousands of ISIS fighters captured over the past two years.
“There is a phrase that we always say: we can come any night without warning,” Erdogan told reporters in televised remarks.
“It is absolutely out of the question for us to further tolerate the threats from these terrorist groups,” he said, referring to Kurdish militants.
He later added that US troops had already started to withdraw from parts of northeast Syria – paving the way for his armies to move in.
On Monday, witnesses in Syria saw United States forces pulling out of two observation posts in Tel Abyad and Ein Eissa.
Some reports claimed the US gave Erdogan the green light to invade Syria after convincing the Kurds to recently move their defensive positions back from the border with Turkey.
It is still unclear how extensive the Turkish operation will be, or whether Turkish forces would clash with the US-backed Kurds.
However, observers are already saying it is a development that could jeopardise the counter-terrorism gains achieved by the American military in the fight against ISIS in recent years.
Many Syria experts criticised the White House decision and cautioned the abandonment of its Kurdish allies could widen the Syrian conflict and even prompt the Kurds to unite with the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad to take on the much larger Turkish army.
“Allowing Turkey to move into northern Syria is one of the most destabilising moves we can do in the Middle East,” Representative Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat and former Marine who served in the Iraq war, said on Twitter on Sunday night.
“The Kurds will never trust America again. They will look for new alliances or independence to protect themselves.”
Erdogan later vowed he would work with European governments to deal with any foreign ISIS prisoners in the region.
“There are (ISIS prisoners) from France, Germany, other countries. They say ‘We don’t want to have control over them,'” Mr Erdogan said.
“We can’t look after them. What can be done about this? They are going to work on that and I instructed our colleagues to work on that too”.
Kurdish leaders have long asked the west for help saying their overstretched army can’t repel a Turkish invasion and guard the more than 15,000 captured prisoners the same time.
And the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said today a Turkish attack against them could reverse years of successful operations to defeat ISIS and allow surviving leaders to come out of hiding.
The SDF holds thousands of Islamic State fighters and their families in prisons and informal settlements across northern Syria.
“The American forces did not abide by their commitments and withdrew their forces along the border with Turkey,” the SDF said in its statement.
“Turkey now is preparing to invade northern and eastern parts of Syria.”
One unnamed Kurdish official told NBC: “The Americans are traitors. They have abandoned us to a Turkish massacre.
“We can no longer fight against isis and have to defend ourselves. This could allow ISIS to return to the region.”
It has been a key US ally against the Islamic State group but is seen by Ankara as a “terrorist” offshoot of Kurdish insurgents inside Turkish territory.
MAJOR POLICY SHIFT
Trump’s earlier announcement was a major shift in US military policy in Syria, the White House announced that the president had agreed to a Turkish military operation.
The move was confirmed in an extraordinary statement following a call between Trump and Turkish President Erdogan.
The US will remove all of its forces from the “immediate area” and will not be involved in the Turkish operation.
It comes after repeated threats from President Erdogan to launch a military assault on the Kurdish forces in Northern Syria, many of whom his government considers terrorists.
“Turkey will soon be moving forward with its long-planned operation into Northern Syria,” the White House said.
“The United States Armed Forces will not support or be involved in the operation, and United States forces, having defeated the ISIS territorial ‘Caliphate,’ will no longer be in the immediate area.”
It was not clear whether that meant the US would be withdrawing its 1,000 or so troops completely from northern Syria.
FEARS OF KURDISH SLAUGHTER
The announcement has renewed fears of a mass slaughter of Kurdish fighters allied with the US in a years-long campaign against ISIS.
Turkey considers the Kurdish fighters to be a terrorist group, and has long sought to end US support for the fighters.
But the Kurdish group, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, has been America’s most reliable partner in fighting ISIS in a strategic corner of northern Syria.
The Kurdish forces bore the brunt of the US-led campaign against ISIS militants.
Republicans and Democrats have previously warned that allowing the Turkish attack would send a troubling message to American allies across the globe.
The announcement came after a call between Trump and Erdogan.
US WITHDRAWAL
In December, Trump announced he was withdrawing American troops from Syria but was met with widespread condemnation for abandoning Kurdish allies to the Turkish assault.
The announcement prompted the resignation in protest of then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and a coordinated effort by then-national security adviser John Bolton to try to protect the Kurds.
The White House statement said Turkey will take custody of all ISIS fighters captured over the past two years that European powers have refused to take
“The United States Government has pressed France, Germany, and other European nations, from which many captured ISIS fighters came, to take them back, but they did not want them and refused,” the US said in its statement.
“The United States will not hold them for what could be many years and great cost to the United States taxpayer.”
Ambassador James Jeffrey, the State Department envoy to the international coalition fighting ISIS, said there are about 2,500 captured ISIS fighters that the US wants Europe to take.
Trump has repeatedly demanded that European countries, particularly France and Germany, take back their citizens who joined the militant organisation.
MOST READ IN NEWS
Turkish state media reported that Trump and Erdogan agreed to meet at the White House in November.
In August, negotiators from the US and Turkey reached an agreement to create a “safe zone” in northeastern Syria in order to secure the territory once held by ISIS.
President Erdogan’s spokesman today said on Monday the planned “safe zone” aims to clear terrorist elements from the border and return refugees safely.
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