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Nightmare scenarios haunt Turks as Syrian Kurds carry out military assaults on Turkish soil
Akin Nazli in Belgrade
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have carried out military operations in the Turkish prov- inces of Sanliurfa, Gaziantep and Mar- din, the SDF said on August 18 (map).
On August 16, Turkey’s defence ministry announced reported mortalities caused by mortar fire on the town of Birecik in Sanliurfa province.
The SDF statement asserted that it, an alliance of forces formed during the Syrian Civil War, was the perpetrator.
Turkey has lately escalated its aggres- sion in the region of Syria where the SDF operates (yellow part on the map), the SDF added.
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The escalation of clashes in the region coincided with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s early August meet- ing with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi.
Reportedly, Erdogan asked for Putin’s backing for a Turkish attack on Kurds in Syria. Putin responded that Turkey had already carried out limited operations against the Kurdish forces and advised Erdogan to work with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The operations have included shelling, armed drone attacks, assassinations and bombings.
Since the meeting with Putin, Erdogan has been preparing Turks for another
dizzying U-turn when it comes to foe Assad.
Jihadists in northern Syria (light green and grey parts along the Turkish border on the map) have, meanwhile, held pro- tests in reaction to Turkish officials’ com- ments on arbitrating matters between the Assad regime and the jihadists.
The SDF was formed by the Kurdish People’s Defence Units (YPG), an armed Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Work- ers’ Party (PKK). The US has depended on the YPG to fight Islamic State for around eight years.
In April, Turkey launched an offensive against the PKK in northern Iraq. Since