The push south of Jarabulus by Turkey and its rebel allies seems meant to prevent Kurdish fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces from pushing northward and creating a Kurdish buffer zone along the border with Turkey.
Advertisement
On Monday, Turkish-backed forces advanced on Manbij, a city about 30 km (20 miles) south of Turkey’s border captured this month by the SDF, in which Kurdish fighters play a major part, with USA help.
ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Bagdadi told fighters in Manbij “to fight to the death” and “they didn’t follow his direction”, according to Votel, questioning how much command and control ISIS leadership has over its forces.
In the following days, Syrian rebels of the US -backed Free Syrian Army have swept southward and westward to target the Islamic State but have mostly clashed with Kurdish-aligned fighters.
It leaves Washington in the tough spot of having to choose between two allies, and is likely to divert resources from the fight against IS.
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter cautioned Turkish forces Monday against advancing further south of the Syrian city of Jarablus and clashing with US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.
US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter later said he had appealed to both sides not to fight.
The Pentagon has called for an immediate de-escalation in clashes between Turkey and Syrian Kurdish forces, saying the fighting is “unacceptable” and a “source of deep concern”.
Experts say the best-case scenario for defusing tensions would be for Turkey to accept U.S. assurances that the YPG is withdrawing east of the Euphrates river. The FSA is operating with Turkish Air Force air support.
“We call on all armed actors to stand down”, he wrote on his official Twitter account, citing a statement from the U.S. Department of Defense. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden sought to patch up ties in a visit last week, just as Turkish forces entered Syria.
He signaled U.S. support for Turkey’s effort to liberate Jarablus and ISIS-controlled areas to the west.
Since then, Turkish forces have mainly pushed into areas controlled by fighters aligned to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a USA -backed coalition dominated by the Kurdish YPG militia.
Turkey’s military foray into Syria is a dramatic escalation of Ankara’s involvement in the Syrian civil war.
Differences over Syria policy have long complicated the relationship between North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies Turkey and the United States.
The United States said Monday clashes in Syria between Turkish forces and units affiliated with a USA -supported Kurdish-led alliance are not acceptable and is calling on all sides to stand down. The YPG, he claimed, was out of Jarablus and Manbij, “Because the YPG are east of the Euphrates”.
The meeting Sunday will take place before the G20 summit in China, Obama’s deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes told reporters at the White House.
Turkish warplanes extended the country’s cross-border military operations on Monday, slamming ISIS strongholds in Syria and pounding Kurdish militants in Iraq, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement the offensive would continue until “the threat of Daesh and YPG/PKK is over”.
Turkey sent tanks rolling across the border last week to help the Syrian opposition forces seize Jarablus from the Islamic State group. But the USA also supports the SDF, which has been enormously successful fighting ISIS. “They have fought hard and sacrificed to try and rid Syria of this hateful group”.
The council says its fighters will withdraw to areas south of the Sajour River, a tributary of the Euphrates.
“We also fully support the SDF in their efforts to defeat ISIL”, said Peter Cook, a Pentagon spokesman.
On August 24, Turkey launched a ground operation in Syria codenamed Shield of Euphrates. Turkey denied any civilians had been hit.
Advertisement
In recent weeks, the Turkish military has moved south to engage with Kurdish Forces.
