Syria Kurd drive denies hyperlinks to Ankara assault as Turkey strikes

The commander of a Kurdish-led drive in Syria denied hyperlinks to a lethal assault close to Ankara claimed by Kurdish PKK militants, after Turkish strikes on Kurd-held Syria killed greater than a dozen individuals in retaliation.

Turkey carried out air strikes in opposition to targets linked to Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria after Wednesday’s capturing and suicide assault that killed 5 individuals at a defence agency close to the Turkish capital.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan mentioned the attackers infiltrated from neighbouring Syria, vowing there could be no let-up within the struggle in opposition to Kurdish militants.

“We opened an inner investigation and I can affirm that not one of the attackers entered Turkey from Syrian territory,” Mazloum Abdi, the top of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) advised AFP.

The SDF is a US-backed drive that spearheaded combating in opposition to the Islamic State group in its final Syria strongholds earlier than its territorial defeat in 2019.

It’s dominated by the Kurdish Folks’s Safety Models (YPG), seen by Ankara as an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Employees’ Get together (PKK) which claimed the assault on Ankara.

“We now have no connection to this assault that befell in Ankara,” Abdi mentioned late Saturday from Hasakeh, a serious metropolis run by the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration in northeast Syria.

“Our battlefields are inside Syrian territory,” he added.

Turkish strikes on Kurd-held Syria since Wednesday have killed 15 civilians and two fighters, in line with Abdi.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based battle monitor, mentioned Turkey has launched greater than 100 strikes, most of them utilizing drones, since Wednesday.

It mentioned civilian infrastructure together with bakeries, grain silos and energy stations have been hit alongside navy services and checkpoints utilized by Kurdish forces.

“Plainly (Turkey’s) purpose is not only to reply to the occasions that befell in Ankara, but in addition to focus on establishments and sources of livelihood for the inhabitants,” mentioned Abdi.

“The primary purpose is to weaken and get rid of the (semi) autonomous administration, forcing the inhabitants emigrate,” he mentioned.

– ‘Weak’ US response –

Abdi mentioned he was open to dialogue to de-escalate tensions however demanded an finish to Turkey’s assaults which he mentioned are “ongoing” and counsel a doubtlessly wider operation.

“We’re able to resolve points with Turkey via dialogue, however not below the stress of assaults, so these operations have to be stopped for dialogue efforts to proceed,” Abdi mentioned.

Turkish troops and allied insurgent factions management swaths of northern Syria following successive cross-border offensives since 2016, most of them focusing on the SDF.

“The Turkish state is taking benefit of the present occasions within the Center East, as consideration is directed in direction of Gaza, Lebanon and the Israeli assault on Iran” to launch new assaults on Syria, Abdi mentioned.

Abdi criticised his US allies for not defending Kurdish forces, saying the place of the US-led coalition “appears weak”.

America has about 900 troops in Syria as a part of an anti-jihadist coalition.

“Their response just isn’t on the degree required to cease the assaults, and stress have to be placed on Turkey,” he added, saying the strikes on Syria “not solely concern us but in addition have an effect on their forces.”

The US presidential election on November 5 may additionally weaken assist for the SDF if Donald Trump is elected, in line with Abdi.

In 2019, Trump introduced a call to withdraw 1000’s of US troops from Kurdish-held Syria, paving the best way for Turkey to launch an invasion there that very same 12 months.

“In 2019, we had an unsuccessful expertise with the administration of US President Trump,” mentioned the SDF commander.

“However we’re assured that the USA… makes its choices based mostly on” strategic pursuits within the area.