Both councils are allied with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a USA -backed alliance of groups including the powerful Kurdish YPG militia that is fighting Islamic State insurgents and has expanded along Syria’s frontier with Turkey.
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On Monday, the Turkish air force launched air strikes on PKK bases in northern Iraq, state media said.
Turkey’s incursion into Syria helped rebels take the border town of Jarablus from the Islamic State group last week, but clashes have since broken out between Turkish and Kurdish forces in the area.
It’s worth mentioning that both the SDF and the FSA are supported by the air cover of the USA -led anti-terror coalition, which put Washington in a tight spot.
A Turkish tank is stationed near the Syrian border, in Karkamis, Turkey, Monday, Aug. 29, 2016. The U.S. endorsed the mission and provided drones for surveillance and aerial support.
Turkish forces backed by pro-Ankara rebels seized the town of Jarabulus from ISIL on the first day of the operation, but have since then clashed with local fighters affiliated with the SDF.
An intervention the USA initially welcomed now seems like it could benefit ISIS, in the short term, by setting the extremist group’s enemies against each other.
Spokesman for the Turkish president Ibrahim Kalin said at a press conference on Wednesday that Turkey won’t conclude any agreements with the terrorist groupings of Syrian Kurds, TASS reported. Officials in Turkey’s capital Ankara rejected the claim.
He noted that the PYD and the YPG are terrorist organizations.
A Kurdish military official said a ceasefire between Turkey and Kurdish-backed militia fighters was holding.
Ankara strongly denies killing any civilians.
“Our determination continues”, Yildirim said.
“We want to make clear that we find these clashes unacceptable and they are a source of deep concern”.
Kurdish-backed militias said they had agreed to the truce.
The fighting comes when the USA and Russian Federation say they’re working toward an end to Syria’s more than five and a half years of civil war. The U.S. and allies have supported various forces opposing him.
He said he could understand Turkey’s concern about protecting its borders and fighting the Islamic State group, but criticized actions against Kurdish rebels allied with the US -led coalition against the extremists.
Although they share an enemy in ISIS, Syria’s Kurds and Ankara dislike each other nearly as much.
French President Francois Hollande said he understood Turkey’s need to defend itself but that targeting Kurdish forces battling jihadists could further inflame the five-year-old Syrian conflict.
Syrian Kurds see Turkey as an abuser of Kurdish rights, and a barrier to their aspirations of greater autonomy.
The Turkish military pushed Islamic State militants out of Jarablus last week and is now fighting to contain USA -backed Kurdish forces, which Ankara views as a threat. US officials have threatened to withdraw backing for the YPG if it did not meet that demand, but have said that the Kurdish group has mostly done so.
Turkey says its forces have struck multiple positions held by the Kurdish YPG militia, part of the SDF coalition.
Sharfan Darwish, a spokesman for the Manbij Military Council, said a ceasefire between Turkey and the Jarablus Military Council was holding.
Turkey’s Mevlut Cavusoglu called Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday to update him on the progress of ‘Euphrates Shield, ‘ Turkey’s incursion into Syria, which is aimed at helping Syrian rebels drive back IS as well as USA -backed Kurdish forces.
Turkey has vowed to keep up the pressure until the Syrian Kurdish fighters pull out completely from the area.
Col Ahmed added that he anticipates clearing the area west of the Euphrates of ISIL and YPG forces within the next three weeks. Rebel leaders also accuse the Kurdish faction of stealing Arab land in Syria and compare the group’s aspirations of sovereignty to those of ISIL.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said Monday the USA was working to stop the fighting among its allies along the border.
He called for steps to de-escalate the situation and said Washington had once again told the YPG to retreat east of the Euphrates.
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Turkey has demanded that the YPG cross the Euphrates river into a Kurdish-controlled canton in Syria’s northeast.
