Speaking by phone from Jarablus, a Faylaq Al Sham commander, Major Yasser Abdul Rahim, also equated the Kurdish group with ISIL, saying his mission was to “clear the area of ISIL and the terrorist PYD and YPG extremist groups”.
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Turkeys use of force against Kurdish forces in Syria has not gone down well with the USA, with Washington openly supporting the Kurdish YPG fighters, who have proved to be a vital ground force in the battle against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). It leaves Washington in the tough spot of having to choose between two of its allied forces, and is likely to divert resources from the fight against IS.
Turkey’s president vowed to press ahead with the military operation until IS and Kurdish Syrian fighters no longer pose a security threat to Ankara. Carter added that he intends to discuss the issue next week in Europe with Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik. “They were not coordinated with USA forces, and we do not support them”, Cook said.
Turkey considers the YPG, which is the main component of the USA -backed SDF, a “terrorist” group and said it would continue to target the group if it failed to retreat east of the Euphrates River.
Bilgic also stressed that the USA must honor its assurances that the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) would withdraw to the east of the Euphrates River. “If the USA announced such a thing that means they are trying to present terrorist organizations as formal parties”, the Turkish official said.
A cease-fire is holding between Turkey and Kurdish-backed militia in northern Syria, a Kurdish military official said on Tuesday, but a Syrian rebel commander characterized it only as a “pause” and added that military operations would resume soon.
“The FSA [Free Syrian Army] is using Turkish tanks in the clashes but we will stay in Manbij”, he said. A video posted on social media showed Syrian rebels beating captured fighters allied with the Kurds.
The White House is opposed to Turkey making a push into northern Syria in areas controlled by opposition group SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces), which the administration supports. The SDF and YPG could decide to advance with their objective of linking the Kurdish-controlled zone east of the Euphrates to the isolated pocket in north-west Syria around the town of Afrin.
Monday’s statement by Ash Carter came after Turkish forces launched a two-pronged operation last week against ISIL, also known as ISIS, and Kurdish forces from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) inside Syria.
There was more heavy fighting Monday along the Turkey-Syriaborder, but two USA allies seem more intent on fighting each other than ISIS. He also said the USA has communicated to the SDF that they should not engage in military activity against Turkish forces.
Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said the meeting between Obama and Erdogan will occur on the sidelines of the summit.
A top Turkish official told Daily Sabah that the Turkish military will hit YPG forces if the terrorist group does not retreat to the east of the Euphrates.
On Monday, Kurdish forces reportedly withdrew south of the Sajur river situated halfway between Jarablus and Manbij to reduce the potential for civilian casualties.
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U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the period of calm had lasted 12 to 18 hours and the United States would like it to continue so that all members of the coalition could focus their efforts on fighting Islamic State militants.
