But Ankara’s move, steered against Kurdish forces backed by Washington in part, prompted serious tensions in US-Turkey relations inferior in the aftermath of the unsuccessful coup against the Erdogan government. The offensive has continued to successful seize land from Islamist control: Turkey and its rebel allies now control a 90 km stretch on the Syrian side of the border, and are pushing south.
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Gelo Issa, a YPG political official in northern Syria, told VOA that it was uncertain whether the USA would agree to anything other than Turkish air support in a Raqqa offensive.
But Turkey’s tactics have drawn criticism from its North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally the United States and also from Russian Federation, with which it recently patched up ties.
Washington says Turkish attacks on Kurdish-aligned militias damage a USA -backed coalition that is fighting ISIS. “They saved us from DAESH”, he said.
Turkey is home to some 2.7 million refugees from the conflict in Syria but only around 10 percent live in refugee camps, with the rest living in towns and cities across the country, mainly in the southeast.
Turkish state media have subsequently broadcast footage of life returning to normal inside Jarabulus following the departure of IS, showing shops re-opening and children playing in the streets. Power supplies across Syria have been severely disrupted by the war.
The PKK are considered by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union to be a terrorist organisation. Moving farther south, some 80 kilometers to Raqqa, would be problematic, because Turkish forces would need to pass through Kurdish territory. The military said late on Tuesday that three Turkish soldiers were killed when two tanks were hit by rockets fired by Islamic State.
Ankara sees the YPG as an extension of the PKK which is fighting an insurgency on Turkish soil.
Turkish armed forces backed by tanks and Free Syrian Army forces entered Syria last month to remove IS militants from near the Turkish border. Canikli told a news conference on Wednesday that the YPG had not yet completely pulled back east.
Turkey’s branding of PYD and YPG as terrorist groups have put it at odds with Washington, which sees the YPG as a valuable and effective ally in its fight against Islamic State in Syria.
Speaking to reporters aboard a plane as he returned from a G-20 meeting, Erdogan said that the issue had been brought up by US President Barack Obama during the summit in China. The president had said a specific Turkish role would depend on further talks.
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But the YPG receives strong military support from the United States and is widely viewed as among the most effective forces against IS.
