ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States opposes a potential Turkish military operation against Kurdish forces in northern Syria, a senior American military official said late Wednesday. Washington has previously opposed the Turkish plan as well.
Turkey has in recent months renewed threats to carry out a fresh military operation against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria’s Manbij and Tal Rifaat towns in a bid to complete the 30 kilometer “safe zone” it began creating along its southern borders in recent years. Kurdish forces have taken the threats seriously and begun making preparations to encounter the Turkish army and its Syrian proxies.
Dana Stroul, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East, said during an online discussion organized by the US-based Middle East Institute late Wednesday that Washington opposes Turkey’s plan to attack Kurdish forces.
"At this point, we are opposed to this operation, and we have made very clear that that sort of operation near us is going to introduce concerns about US and coalition forces protection and concerns about backtracking on the progress we have made against ISIS," she said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on June 1 that "Any escalation there in northern Syria is something that we would oppose, and we support the maintenance of the current ceasefire lines." State Department spokesperson Ned Price as well as a number of House Representatives have expressed their “concerns” over such a possible military campaign.
Turkey has launched two offensives against Kurdish fighters in Syria since 2018. It alleges that the fighters are allied with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey and is viewed as a terrorist organization by Ankara.
Russia, Syria, and the United Nations have all called on Turkey to refrain from embarking on military escalation in northeastern Syria.
The SDF is the main ally of the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) on the ground in Syria.
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