Peace in Syria requires the reunification of its territory, but geopolitical interests will not make it easy. Attempts to unify Syria between the transitional government led by Islamist rebels and the Kurdish forces that control the northeast of the country continue to clash with the interests of the main supporter of the rebels: Türkiye. Senior US officials assured this Tuesday that the Turkish Army and its allied militias are accumulating forces along the border with Syria, replicating what happened in 2019 when Turkey carried out a large-scale operation that ended the occupation of part of the Syrian territory.
As published The Wall Street Journal Through these sources, this event that began after the fall of Bashar al Assad a little over a week ago has raised alarm bells that Ankara is preparing for a large-scale incursion into territory held by the Syrian Kurds backed by the United States. The forces would include militia fighters, Turkish military and artillery in large numbers massed near Kobane, one of the most important cities in Syria’s Kurdish enclave on the northern border with Turkey. According to one of the officials, the Turkish cross-border operation could be imminent, while another of the sources consulted assures that “they are focused on it and pushing for moderation“.
Meanwhile, Ilham Ahmed, an official in the civil administration of the Syrian Kurds, sent a letter to US President-elect Donald Trump (who will take office on January 20) on Monday to pressure Turkish President Recep Tayyip. Erdogan, to do not carry out this operation. Ahmed states in the letter consulted by the American media that “if Turkey continues with its invasion, the consequences will be catastrophic,” since in Kobane alone there are more than 200,000 people who would be forced to flee.
The truth is that it was precisely Trump during his first term who partially withdrew US troops from northeastern Syria. This forced the Kurds to reach an agreement with the Al Assad Government so as not to lose the territory they had gained and receive support in the Turkish invasion. Despite everything, the Trump administration helped negotiate a ceasefire in exchange for the Kurds ceding kilometers of border territory to the Turks. Türkiye has a historic fight with the Kurdswhose political institutions such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) consider terrorists.
The Kurdish militias of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have accused the Government of Türkiye of be behind the failure of the negotiations to achieve a permanent truce in the Manbij and Kobane regions. “US-led mediation efforts to declare a permanent truce in the Manbij and Kobane regions have not been successful due to Turkey’s attitude in approaching mediation efforts and its evasion of accepting key points,” the spokesperson denounced. , Farhad Shami.
The spokesperson explained that among the issues at stake included “the transfer of the remaining fighters of the Manbij Military Council and civilians who wished to move to safer areas in northern and eastern Syria” and “the resolution of the issue regarding to the transfer of Suleiman Shah’s remains to their former location. “Despite the United States’ efforts to stop the war, Türkiye and its mercenary militias have continued to intensify their conflict in the last period,” he denounced.
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