SOHR: US-backed Syrian pressure warns Turkey towards assault

A US-backed militia group in Syria has issued a warning {that a} new Turkish navy intervention within the nation may derail the struggle towards ISIS and trigger a contemporary humanitarian disaster.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan final week mentioned an operation towards the Syrian Democratic Forces, a majority pressure which helped to topple ISIS in Syria with western air assist, was imminent.

Earlier operations towards the Syrian-Kurdish group — there have been 4 since 2016 — have compelled small items of US advisers to tug again from Kurdish positions as Turkish air and artillery strikes rained down on the militias.

The warning from the SDF comes after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Nato Secretary Common Jens Stoltenberg mentioned a brand new incursion by Turkish forces may unravel fragile positive factors within the space.

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi known as on all sides to “stop any new tragedies and assist de-escalation”, warning that an assault would gasoline but extra displacement in Syria’s 11-year battle.

Turkey has vowed to launch a brand new offensive towards the Kurdish YPG militia, the spearhead of the SDF, which controls swathes of territory on the border with Syria.

Whereas Turkey views the Kurdish-led forces as terrorists and a nationwide safety risk, the US regards the SDF as an ally that has helped drive ISIS from huge areas of Syria.

Washington, whose assist for the SDF has lengthy been a degree of stress in ties with its Nato ally Turkey, has expressed concern, saying any new offensive would put in danger US troops — which have a presence in Syria — and undermine regional stability.

On a go to to the Turkish city of Hatay close to the Syrian border on Thursday, the American ambassador to the United Nations reiterated US opposition to any navy motion.

“We now have engaged with the Turkish authorities,” Linda Thomas Greenfield mentioned. “We now have indicated our opposition to any choice to take navy motion on the Syrian aspect of the border. We expect that nothing ought to be performed to interrupt the ceasefire strains which have already been established.”

Any such motion, she mentioned, wouldn’t solely enhance struggling but additionally the variety of displaced folks, together with some who may attempt to cross the border into Turkey.

Erdogan risk

President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday mentioned Turkey would rid northern Syria’s Tal Rifaat and Manbij areas of terrorists, confirming the targets of the brand new advance for the primary time. He mentioned the assault would proceed into different areas.

There was a surge in violence close to the border in current days however sources on either side say they haven’t seen critical navy actions.

The SDF-aligned Manbij Army Council mentioned one in all its fighters was killed on Thursday whereas repelling an tried infiltration by Turkey-backed fighters.

Two of the attacking forces had been killed, Sharfan Darwish, its consultant, informed Reuters in a voice recording.

There was no speedy remark from Turkey-backed teams within the space and Reuters couldn’t independently affirm the incident.

A Turkey-backed Syrian insurgent pressure, the Nationwide Military, mentioned the SDF had stepped up shelling of its areas.

Maj Youssef Hammoud, its consultant, informed Reuters: “We’re responding from our positions and Turkish bases within the space are shelling YPG positions.”

On Wednesday, three civilians and a fighter had been killed in a rocket assault on Tel Abyad, a border city seized by Turkish forces and their Syrian allies in an incursion in 2019, mentioned the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based group that stories on the struggle.

The insurgent Nationwide Military mentioned the SDF was chargeable for the Tel Abyad shelling.

The Observatory mentioned the rockets had been fired from areas the place each SDF and Syrian authorities forces function. An SDF consultant couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.

Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Employees’ Occasion (PKK), which has been waging an insurgency since 1984 wherein greater than 40,000 folks have been killed.