Tensions have mounted since Turkish tanks, backed by USA and Turkish warplanes, pushed across the border into northern Syria last week, quickly seizing the Islamic State-controlled town of Jarabulus.
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Meanwhile a USA official told AFP on condition of anonymity that all US -backed Kurdish forces were now east of the Euphrates river, a key demand of Ankara, but said some other Kurdish forces who are not backed by Washington may still be in contested territory.
“So long as they don’t, they will be a target”, said Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
The recent spate of clashes had effectively been between two key USA allies: Turkey and the YPG (and Syrian Democratic Forces or SDF generally).
In a series of strongly-worded Tweets this afternoon (29 August), the United States special envoy to the coalition Brett McGurk, quoting from a Defense Department (DOD) briefing, said: “DOD: Monitoring reports of airstrikes & clashes south of #Jarabuls b/w Turkish forces, some opposition groups, & units affiliated with #SDF”.
He also noted that the USA had asked the Kurdish YPG to withdraw their forces east of the Euphrates and said “they are doing that”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkish operations will continue “until terror organizations such as Daesh, the PKK and its Syrian arm, the YPG, cease to be threats for our citizens”.
“It’s unclear whether Turkish commanders will send ground forces all the way to Manbij to help the FSA take control of the city or only provide air cover, said Al Jazeera’s Ahelbarra”.
The U.S. has supported Turkey in its demand that the SDF withdraw east of the Euphrates, which cuts into Jarablus. He denied Turkey was entering the war in Syria, saying, “We are not pursuing an aim of becoming a permanent power in Syria”.
Earlier this month, the Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces crossed the Euphrates and drove IS militants out of Manbij, a key supply hub south of Jarablus, following a costly 10-week campaign.
Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria in 2011, the USA administration has supported the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
“What that policy ought to be, I think, is that the United States will work with Turkey to make sure that the YPG goes back east of the Euphrates”, he continued.
He signaled U.S. support for Turkey’s effort to liberate Jarablus and ISIS-controlled areas to the west.
The YPG already controls an uninterrupted 400 km stretch of the border and intends to take over crucial territory between Jarablus and Azaz, which is mostly controlled by DAESH, before Operation Euphrates Shield hinders their advance.
U.S. Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the U.S.
USA -backed Kurdish forces in northern Syria have “all” moved east of the Euphrates River, a US defense official said Monday, an action Washington hopes will reduce conflict between two partner forces. “We have a broad and active agenda”, he said.
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The move is not likely to please the Turks who are demanding a full withdrawal from all areas west of the Euphrates. The Local Coordination Committees, an activist collective, said the rebels captured seven more villages since late Sunday.
