FILE – A Turkish boy waves to Turkish tank convoy driving into Syria from the Turkish Syrian border city of Karkamis in the southern region of Gaziantep, Aug. 26, 2016.
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Brutal battle Turkish military leaders say they hope to take control of Manbij – recently taken from Islamic State, also known as Isis, following a brutal 10- week battle with Kurdish forces – in the coming days.
The move by Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally, has left Washington alarmed as Ankara’s operation not only aims to push back IS (Daesh) but also to prevent Kurdish fighters from acquiring more areas along the Turkish border.
The Turkish incursion has left Washington scrambling to get its feuding allies to focus their firepower on Islamic State instead of each other after clashes that have threatened to unravel America’s war strategy in Syria. “Our support for all parties is contingent upon the focus upon ISIL”, he said, using another acronym for IS.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said Monday the United States was working to stop the fighting among its allies along the border.
Turkey has responded to US demands for a ceasefire by giving Kurdish forces an ultimatum: withdraw from all territory east of the Euphrates River or face more frequent and severe attacks. At least 20 to 25 Turkish airstrikes have hit areas south of Jarabulus since Saturday, he said.
In a later statement, Bilgic said Turkey’s Euphrates Shield ” operation. will continue, with up-most respect to the territorial integrity of Syria, until the calamity of terror is not disturbing Turkish citizens”.
In a speech Tuesday, Hollande said “multiple, contradictory interventions carry the risk of a general inflammation” of the fighting that has devastated the country.
Ankara says it will not take orders from anyone on how to protect the nation.
As part of Operation Euphrates’ Shield, Turkey’s military, supported by US air power, is attempting to push ISIS militants back from the Syrian-Turkish border.
“We are waiting to see if the U.S. is committed to its promise that after the Manbij operation no member of the PYD [Democratic Union Party] or YPG [Peoples Protection Units] would stay in the west of Euphrates”, he said.
Turkey says it has captured seven fighters belonging to the People’s Protection Units or YPG.
He accused the group of “ethnic cleansing”, by taking control of traditionally Arab areas of northern Syria.
Sharfan Darwish, a spokesman for the Manbij Military Council, said a ceasefire between Turkey and the Jarablus Military Council was holding.
Votel issued a statement through CentCom denying involvement: “Any reporting that I had anything to do with the recent unsuccessful coup attempt in Turkey is unfortunate and completely inaccurate”.
The Security Council is set to discuss on Tuesday a report by weapons inspectors that found the Syrian government deployed chemical weapons on at least two occasions and is suspected of deploying them in at least three other instances. “But there has been a pause for some time”, the commander, who declined to be identified, told Reuters by telephone, adding that the operation would resume shortly. “Our forces are not involved in these activities, they were not coordinated with U.S. forces, and we do not support them”, the spokesman said.
When the YPG did cross that line, it was with U.S. support – when the Syrian Democratic Forces captured the city of Manbij from the Islamic State earlier in August.
Turkey last week launched a two-pronged offensive against the Islamic State group and the YPG in northern Syria.
On Monday, a US Defense Department official said “all” Kurdish forces had moved east of the river.
Turkey is still reeling from an attempted coup in July in which rogue military commanders used warplanes and tanks to try to oust President Tayyip Erdogan and the government, exposing splits in the ranks of NATO’s second-biggest military. “Any escalation will lead to the killing of more innocent civilians”.
He claimed there are no longer any YPG forces west of the Euphrates river, although Turkey has made the opposite claim to justify the continuation of its operations.
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“We welcome the calm between the Turkish military and other counter-ISIL forces in Syria”, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said.
