Kurdish commander calls on US to take ‘stronger’ position against Turkish attacks in Syria

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Mazloum Abdi, General Commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said on Saturday that they have asked Americans to take a “stronger” position against the latest Turkish offensive in Syria. He believes that Washington will respond positively. 

Turkey launched an aerial offensive, dubbed Operation Claw-Sword, against the Kurdish forces in the Kurdistan Region’s mountainous areas and northern Syria on Sunday. The US, which has numerous troops in northeast Syria (Rojava), has not condemned Ankara for the offensive but called for de-escalation. The Pentagon has warned that the increased frequency of Turkish airstrikes directly threatened US personnel in the region on Wednesday. 

Speaking during an online press conference on Saturday, Abdi said that the US officials spoke about the Turkish offensive late, adding that he has asked Americans to take a stricter position. 

“They [US] should have a position. We asked them what would happen if Turkey does not take their statements into consideration. We asked them to have a stronger position and we believe that their position will be stronger,” said the Kurdish general, replying to a question by Rudaw’s Hussein Omar. 

He added that they agreed with Americans in 2019 - when Turkey invaded two Kurdish towns in northern Syria - that Ankara should be punished by the US if it failed to implement the ceasefire which was announced days after the offensive. 

The US Congress should sanction Ankara for violating the agreement, he noted. 

Abdi said that the Turkish latest military campaign has killed 16 SDF fighters and more than a dozen civilians. 

The offensive seeks to remove the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters in the Kurdistan Region’s mountainous areas and the People’s Protection Units (YPG), backbone of SDF, fighters in Rojava. The operation came a few days after a TNT-laden bomb killed six people and injured 81 others in Turkish city of Istanbul. Turkish authorities have blamed the PKK and YPG but both groups have strongly rejected the accusation. 

Abdi called for the launching of an international fact-finding investigation on the Istanbul attack.

“Most of the people behind this attack are affiliated to ISIS [Islamic State]. We will inform the public once we confirm it. We call for the launching of an international investigation regarding this incident so that the truth is exposed,” he stressed. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that a they may carry out a ground operation against the SDF “soon.”

The Kurdish commander has said in recent days that Turkey is practising a new strategy by targeting the region’s infrastructure, especially oil fields - main source of the Kurdish autonomous administration’s income. 

“The Turkish state’s goal is to destroy the infrastructure of this region to pave the way for a ground attack,” he said during the online event with journalists on Saturday. “The Turkish state is preparing itself for a ground attack. Erdogan repeatedly says that they want to attack Kobane, Manbij, and Shahba. Also, they are preparing their forces on the ground - the Syrian groups affiliated to them - for an attack.”

Turkey has carried out three military operations against Syrian Kurds since 2016, mostly with the help of its Syrian mercenaries. 

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