Erdogan said Turkey was “saddened” by the stubbornness of the West in not linking the YPG to the PKK which has waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state and is recognised as a terror group by the United States and EU.
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The Ankara bombing played directly into the vast complexities of the fight underway just beyond Turkey’s borders in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo, and it seemed calculated – by whoever carried it out – to provoke a Turkish response.
A Kurdish militant group once linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) claimed responsibility on Friday for the bombing in the Turkish capital Ankara that killed 28 people this week, according to a statement on its website.
The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks, despite severing its ties with the PKK, has also been labeled a terrorist organization by the USA and Turkey.
Analysts warn the attacks could also lead to a wider involvement by Turkish forces in Syria and further strain its relations with the U.S.
In an interview published by pro-PKK media on Wednesday, PKK commander Cemil Bayik said he did not know who carried out the Ankara attack but said it could have been “revenge for the massacres” in Kurdish areas.
“They are saying that YPG is giving a fight with Daesh in Syria and this is a very big lie”, he added. A spokesman for the State Department said on Thursday that Washington was not in a position to confirm or deny Turkey’s charge that the YPG was behind the Ankara bombing.
The attack came as Turkey grapples with an array of issues, including renewed fighting with the Kurdish rebels, the threat from Islamic State militants and the Syria refugee crisis.
“It strikes me that Mr. Erdogan is not somebody who needs an excuse to pursue these kinds of policies, but I would expect that he will certainly use it to his advantage”, said Davis Lewin, head of policy at the Henry Jackson Society, a research organization in London.
The continued clashes at the Turkish-Syrian border, coupled with continued Russian bombing, has called into question a temporary “cessation of hostilities” agreed to last week by Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
“Tourism… is a major target we aim to destroy”.
At a press conference after his visit to the General Staff, Davutoğlu said, “The YPG [People’s Protection Units-militia of the PYD] is a tool of the Syrian regime, and the regime is directly responsible for this attack”.
“The global community was making some calls to stop this shelling and I really hope that they are seeing right now why we were doing this”, Sert said.
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While Turkey is targeting Kurdish fighters in Syria, the USA has armed them and continues to support them.
