German diplomats said Tuesday that it would be a mistake for Turkey to break off the peace process with the Kurdistan Workers Party now. The rebels declared a cease-fire in 2013 that had largely held until last week.
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Turkish officials said they were investigating the charges of shelling inside Syria while denying that YPG forces were a target.
The BBC quoted Kerem Oktem, an analyst at the Center for Southeast European Studies, as saying that Turkish policy was “to pretend that it is waging a war against IS (Islamic State), while at the same time following up on another goal, which is to destroy the PKK”. The PKK said the air strikes rendered the peace process meaningless, but had stopped short of formally pulling out.
The developments follow a decision last week by Turkey’s leaders to allow the U.S.to launch its own strikes against the Islamic State group from its strategically located Incirlik Air Base.
Turkey would support US “partners on the ground” already fighting ISIL militants, the official added.
Reuters reported that Turkish F16 fighters had bombed PKK militants in Sirnak province near the Iraq border. But a few fear that Turkey’s aggression against in the area will merely liquidate the Kurdish presence instead.
And after the PKK killed two Turkish police officers Wednesday, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu vowed to take action.
Earlier, an explosion at a natural gas pipeline between Iran and Turkey – blamed on Kurdish rebels – caused a large fire and shut down the flow of gas.
U.S. officials emphasized that the depth of the buffer zone to be established was one of the important operational details that had yet to be decided.
Khaled Khoja, who heads the Syrian National Coalition, says that would ensure civilians are protected from the Islamic State group and President Bashar Assad’s indiscriminate aerial bombardment.
Turkey and the United States are said to be working on the creation of a buffer zone for refugees in areas of northern Syria free from ISIL militants. The plan for this Safe Zone is to turn it into the first “No Fly Zone” over Syria. “It is right and timely that we hold this meeting today to address the instability on Turkey’s doorstep and on Nato’s border”.
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg is scheduled to speak to the media soon about the meeting’s conclusions.
The attack, which killed 32 people, saw Turkey combine campaigns against Kurdish militants and IS into a broad “war on terror” even though the two groups are themselves bitterly opposed.
In a statement quoted by the Associated Press news agency, it said the Kurdish militants had fired on Turkish soldiers with heavy weaponry.
Turkey began its bombing campaign Friday, shortly after reports emerged of an deal to give American warplanes access to Turkish air bases.
Over eight hundred people have been detained across Turkey in three days of police raids against terrorist organizations.
In a series of cross-border strikes, Turkey has not only targeted ISIS but also Kurdish fighters affiliated with forces battling ISIS, also known as the Islamic State, in Syria and Iraq.
“There was no criticism of Turkey”, another diplomatic source added.
“Terrorism can never be tolerated or justified”, Stoltenberg said.
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The new Turkish measures potentially could weaken the Islamic State group in Syria and strengthen other insurgents fighting it and the Syrian government.
