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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assured this Tuesday, November 22, that his Army will launch “as soon as possible” a ground operation against Kurdish militias in neighboring Syria. The announcement threatens to raise the tension after the clashes in recent days on the Turkish-Syrian border. Russia urges Ankara to “restraint”.
Turkey will soon attack Kurdish militants in northern Syria with tanks and soldiers. This was announced this Tuesday, November 22, by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The president’s remarks come as the roar of bombs and Turkish airstrikes continue to hit Kurdish bases and other targets near the Syrian cities of Tal Rifaat and Kobani, two Damascus military sources said.
The ground offensive announced by Ankara aims to worsen the climate of tension along Syria’s borders with Turkey and Iran, amid the attacks that the Turks have perpetrated since last weekend and which were joined by the Revolutionary Guard from Iran on Monday, November 21.
Both countries point to the Kurds as a threat to their security, leaving them under fire from both sides, although Ankara also signals its adversaries to fight back.
According to Erdogan’s government, his actions respond to retaliation for the attack on November 13 in Istanbul, which left six people dead and around 80 injured despite the fact that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has an armed wing and is considered by Ankara to be a Kurdish guerrilla in Turkey, has insisted on multiple occasions that it was not involved in these events.
But Turkey, which for decades has labeled Kurdish militants “terrorists,” has dismissed the pronouncements of its opponents and is stepping up its military steps.
Just last Sunday, November 20, a barrage of Turkish bombardments under the so-called ‘Claw-Sword’ operation left at least 30 people dead. Among them, members of the Kurdish forces and Syrian soldiers, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
A spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed, Kurdish-led armed alliance, said Turkey’s assaults also killed at least 11 civilians, after accusing Ankara of targeting villages densely populated by people. displaced.
The tension escalated on Monday, November 21, when rocket fire from Syria, attributed by Ankara to the Kurds, hit the Turkish city of Karamis, where two residents died and six were injured, according to the regional governor.
Turkey’s response was swift and a few hours later it launched a new round of attacks.
The escalation of cross-border reprisals appears to be far from over.
The Kurds are considered the largest ethnolinguistic group in the Middle East without a country of their own, distributed mainly between eastern Turkey, northern Iraq and Syria, and western Iran, also with a presence in Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
Experts point out that behind the longstanding hostilities is the opposition of Turkey and Iran to allow the formation of an eventual Kurdish state.
Russia and the United States urge a de-escalation
The two powers that are usually at odds agreed on Tuesday in a call to contain hostilities.
In the last hours, the Russian presidential envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentyev, called on Turkey to “show some restraint” to avoid further confrontation not only in the north, but also throughout the Syrian territory.
The official expressed his hope that “it will be possible to convince our Turkish partners to refrain from excessive use of force,” he remarked.
Calls for restraint were extended soon after when Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow views Turkey’s security concerns “with understanding and respect” but also urges Ankara to “refrain from taking steps that could lead to a serious destabilization of the situation in general”.
The current scenario “may become a ‘boomerang’ and further complicate the state of security affairs,” Peskov stressed.
Russia on Tuesday called for Turkey to exercise “restraint” and warned against “destabilizing” Syria, where Ankara has carried out air strikes and is threatening to launch a ground offensive against Kurdish fighters.https://t.co/qUQgvNsqSu
—The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) November 22, 2022
Washington also called for a de-escalation and the State Department indicated that it opposes “any uncoordinated military action in Iraq that violates sovereignty,” after referring to attacks against the Kurds in that country by Iranian forces.
The United States, an ally of the Syrian Democratic Forces in the midst of its fight against the self-styled Islamic State, has caused a deep rupture with Turkey, one of its main partners in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Meanwhile, Ankara has backed rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has maintained broken diplomatic relations with Damascus since the internal conflict began 11 years ago.
In the midst of this dividing front, Turkey warns that its operations against the Kurds in Syria will not be limited to an air campaign and opens the door to a ground confrontation.
With Reuters, AP and EFE
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