Dozens were killed Sunday in a series of bombardments as Turkish artillery and air strikes hit several villages held by Syrian Kurdish forces, including Jeb el-Kussa, where at least 20 died and 50 were wounded.
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Turkey, a key North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally, regards the YPG as “terrorists”, while the United States considers the militia an effective force against IS in Syria.
“They will all be cleansed out like a cancer cell”.
The U.S.is on the fence. “They have fought hard and sacrificed to try and rid Syria of this hateful group”.
The situation in northern Syria is yet another complication in the country’s already tangled civil war, and potentially throws a wrench in US plans to defeat the Islamic State group in the region. He also urged the Turks not to move south of Jarabulus.
Syrian rebels supported by Turkey have taken control of at least four villages and one town from Kurdish-led forces in the area, amid reports that Turkish airstrikes claimed the lives of at least 35 civilians.
The U.S.’s support for the SDF is likely to be discussed when Obama meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday prior to the start of the G20 summit in China.
The meeting, the first between Obama and Erdoğan since a coup attempt in Turkey failed in July, comes amid differences in strategy against ISIS.
He said all relevant parties had been forewarned of Turkey’s operation in Syria, including the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, a bitter enemy of Ankara who had been informed by its ally Russian Federation.
“We do not support and we would oppose efforts to move south and engage in activities against the Syrian Democratic Forces, the SDF opposition that we have supported”, President Barack Obama’s deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes told reporters at the White House.
Experts say the best-case scenario for defusing tensions would be for Turkey to accept USA assurances that the YPG is withdrawing east of the Euphrates river.
Ankara fears the emergence of an autonomous Kurdish region in Syria would bolster Kurdish rebels across the border in southeast Turkey. Turkish troops have pounded areas around Jarablus, despite the town being liberated from IS last week (Tuesday 23 August), a state of affairs the U.S. calls “unacceptable and a source of deep concern”. He did not, however, mention the USA comments. He denied Turkey was entering the war in Syria, saying, “We are not pursuing an aim of becoming a permanent power in Syria”.
In a written statement, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook called the clashes south of the Euphrates River town of Jarablus in Syria “unacceptable” and a source of “deep concern”.
There was more heavy fighting Monday along the Turkey-Syriaborder, but two USA allies seem more intent on fighting each other than ISIS.
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“American interests are quite clear: we, like they, want to combat ISIL and we’re calling on them all now: let’s keep our priorities clear”, Carter said.
