Turkey on Wednesday denied a U.S. claim it had agreed a truce with the Kurdish militia but the Turkish-backed fighters confirmed there was at least a lull in the fighting.
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Backed by Turkey, the FSA launched an offensive against Jarablus last week with the aim of clearing DAESH from the area.
In comments made to the state-run Anadolu news agency on Wednesday, EU Minister Omer Celik says, “Turkey is a sovereign state, it is a legitimate state. To suggest it is on a par with a terrorist organisation and suggest there are talks between them, that a deal has been reached between them, this is unacceptable”.
Turkish forces backing elements of the Free Syrian Army are continuing their operations against both Islamic State and US backed Syrian Kurdish militia (YPG), inside Syria.
In 2015, Syrian Kurds led by the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia, fought the battle of Kobane. Fighters from at least seven foreign nations, including Russia, Iran, Iraq and Lebanon, are helping the brutal government of Bashar al-Assad while the anti-Assad rebels are being advised, trained and to a limited extent equipped by at least six nations including France, Turkey and the United States.
According to Demir Murat Seyrek, senior policy adviser for the European Foundation for Democracy, Turkey’s military operations required Moscow’s blessing.
“Moving into Syria is the easiest part; it’s about coming back”, warns retired Turkish brigadier general Haldun Solmazturk, a veteran of cross-border operations against the PKK who now heads the Ankara-based political research organization 21st Century.
“Nobody can expect us to allow a terror corridor on our southern border”, Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a news conference, after the U.S. criticised Turkey for attacking the YPG, a Syrian group Washington has backed. “And, if necessary, we will not flinch from taking on similar responsibilities in other areas”.
“Turkey will not hesitate to confront terrorist organisations within the scope of its operation. Nobody can expect us to allow a terror corridor on our southern border”, Erdogan added.
Meanwhile, civilians are the worst affected.
The group also claimed to have carried out a suicide vehicle bombing against Turkish-backed rebels in the same area and to have killed “dozens” of Turkish soldiers and Turkish-backed rebels.
Pro-Ankara Syrian rebels, backed by Turkish aviation and tanks, took Jarabulus from Islamic State (IS) fighters in a lightning operation and now enjoy full control of the town.
Turkey’s predicament is evinced by the fact that its fighting both the Islamic State and Kurdish militias, who in turn, are at war with each other.
Washington said the offensive by its North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally risked undermining the fight against Islamic State because it was focusing on Kurdish-aligned militias.
Violence between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and Turkish security forces resumed last year after the collapse of a two-year peace process.
Jordan sealed the border in June, halting regular aid delivery from its territory, after an attack by Islamic State extremists.
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“We promise our people and our fighters, that we will hold these terrorists accountable for their evil deeds against our imprisoned fighters”, the Kurdish leadership said an earlier statement.
