The photos that emerged Thursday show USA commandos on patrol in the village of Fatisah, near the Islamic State’s stronghold in Raqqa, wearing YPG insignia on their sleeves.
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The American forces wearing the patch were not attempting to make any politically-charged statement on the YPGs’ designation by Istanbul, and U.S. troops in the country also work hand in hand with Syrian Arab fighters under the SDF, said Gen. Joseph Votel, the U.S. Central Command chief.
Antalya, Turkey – Turkey is offering to “join forces” with Washington for a special operation inside Syria on condition it doesn’t include a Syrian Kurdish militia blacklisted by Ankara but seen as an ally by the U.S., the foreign minister said.
Erdogan said: “Those who are our friends, those who are with us in North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, should not and can not send their soldiers to Syria with the sign of the YPG”.
“We are ready but instead of implementing the agreement, (U.S. soldiers) are going and wearing the patches of the YPG”, he said.
Both instances involve a manipulation of insignia, although in the US case there is no official attempt to deny the presence of USA soldiers in Syria.
After the collapse of a settlement process and renewed fighting between security forces and PKK militants in July past year, Turkey’s top officials have vowed that the operations against the group will continue until its total defeat.
But the involvement of Kurdish factions in the anti-IS effort has strained U.S.-Turkish relations. “They can also wear the Boko Haram insignia when they go to Africa”, Cavusoglu said.
Moreover, the USA government will continue to work with Turkey to combat the PKK. The US risks Turkey retaliating by barring its airbases in south Turkey to US air bombers.
“With respect to Turkey’s comments about these photos, we’ve been very clear from this podium and elsewhere, our belief that the YPG is not connected to the PKK [Kurdistan Workers Party], which we have designated as a foreign terrorist organization”.
Cooperation with Syrian Kurdish rebel groups to fight ISIS has been tricky for the United States which must balance the military advantage of the ground force they provide with concerns from Turkey, a fellow ally in the fight against ISIS, that sees those same groups as harmful to Turkish interests.
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US special forces, whose number is estimated to have at least reached several hundreds recently, have long trained YPG members in warfare tactics and in using possibly some sophisticated weapons, press reports said.
