Reports that Syrian Kurds informed Washington that possible attacks by Turkish forces in northern Syria could be a concern. Ankara remarked that Commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces Mazloum Abdi had stopped attacks against Daesh after aerial bombardment by the Turks last week.
Syrian Kurds Are Concerned About Turkish Forces
Last Saturday, four Turkiye troops were killed in a counter-militant activity in northern Iraq to eliminate them, reported Arab News.
Indications show that Ankara is working with opposition forces. Abdi suggested that the US put pressure on their NATO ally. Problems with Ankara as an ally with Kurds; the air strikes drew rebukes as fear of collateral damage might happen, noted Washington Post.
The Turkish government blamed Syrian links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party responsible for the November 13 bombing in Istanbul that killed six people and hurt 80.
Washington Warned of Turkiye Operation in Northern Syria
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the leading Kurdish group, the People's Protection Units, are considered terrorists with PKK links. Soner Cagaptay of the Washington Institute thinks that Ankara will have its way.
He remarked that Syria is taking a back seat to Kyiv, and the YPG is not a significant concern and mentioned that Turkish support for the UAF and the grain deal has made the country more crucial to the stance of Washington. Another is that bid of Sweden and Finland to join NATO has a point.
Samuel Ramani stated the Syrian Kurds are using the Daesh threat to force the US to tell Turkiye to lessen tensions. He added it was similar to the 2019 Operation Peace Spring offensive, wherein ex-President Trump allowed Turks to move, which gave Daesh breathing space, citing Al Jazeera.
Also, the SDF tact will not work, commented Ramani, and the current US administration will not get what Trump got. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is an essential mediator in the Ukraine conflict, and the US has not fully sanctioned it by buying S-400 systems.
SDF chiefs feel the Americans will hang back, do little, and be less involved in the conflict in Syria. Abdi mentioned that Turkish forces air attacks had damaged infrastructure.
Local forces working with the international coalition against Daesh are targets for Turkiye in northern Syria, stopping military action. Cagaptay says the SDF and YPG were crucial partners against Daesh, which is beaten. He said that YPG is now a warden where relatives of militants are kept, Iraqi and Syrian, which is not welcome for western asylum.
SDF statements come as foreign forces in Shaddadeh, located in Syria, were bombed by two rockets by pro-Iran militias. Last Wednesday, the US CENTCOM was in danger, but none were hurt.
Turkiye Defense Minister Hulusi Akar stated last Friday stated they won't hurt coalition forces after a US base was close by in an attack. He also spoke to those heading the Turkish offensive.
Cagaptay explained repercussions from the air strikes would affect camp security, have no YPG support, and are less critical for the Kurdish forces by US lawmakers.
Strikes were done with jets and drones against Kurds to remove them from the border. The SDF will not change the ongoing offensive. Ankara and Moscow pulled back the YPG in 2019 about 30 km south of the border. President Erdogan was intent on securing the shared border, as Syrian Kurds were worried about how Washington will deal with Turkish forces operating in northern Syria.