Erdogan threatens unilateral action as Syria ‘safe zone’ deadline expires

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday hinted that a new offensive against the Kurds of northern Syria could be imminent as his deadline for the US to establish the so-called ‘safe zone’ along the shared border expired. 

Turkey and the US agreed in August to establish a safe zone along Turkish border with Syria. However, Erdogan has accused its NATO ally of dragging its feet.

“We told those who kept delaying Turkey’s proposals to eliminate the terrorist organization and make Syrian territory safe for refugees that this game is up,” he told the Turkish parliament on Tuesday.

“We tried every method to resolve the problem next to our border in cooperation with our allies. We were more than patient and we always expressed our determination.” 

“Turkey does not have a single day to waste in this matter. At this point, we have no alternative but to continue on our own path,” he added, indicating Ankara intends to seize the territory unilaterally.  

Erdogan says he wants to use the safe zone to resettle up to 3 million of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees currently hosted by Turkey. 

However, both Kurdish and US government officials have said they will not allow the resettlement of non-native Syrians to the northeast region. 

Turkey seems to be pursuing a policy of killing two birds with one stone by diluting the Kurdish-majority region with Syrian Arabs while also driving out the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which it considers a terrorist offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). 

The Turkish government says it has spent more than $40 billion on refugee aid since the civil war began in 2011. Security forces have sent back more than 360,000 refugees for having the wrong documentation. 

In early September, the Turkish president threatened to take unilateral action to establish the safe zone if the US failed to act by the end of the month.

“Turkey is determined to actively initiate the formation of a safe zone in Syria along the eastern line of the Euphrates River in its own way by the last week of September,” Erdogan told a meeting of provincial heads of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Ankara on September 5.   

On September 24, he told world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly that the international community must support Turkish efforts to end the war in Syria. 

“From the United Nations’ General Assembly hall, I call on the world to launch an initiative to stop the Syrian crisis and support our efforts,” Erdogan said. 

Unnamed sources told Turkish media outlet Haberturk on Friday that 140 villages, each housing 5,000 Syrian refugees, and 10 districts, each accommodating 30,000 Syrian refugees, will be built in the safe zone, which will be 30-40 kilometers deep. 

Erdogan confirmed the construction blitz on Tuesday, but put the number of the districts at 50. 

“These towns and villages will be built with the support of the international community. We have completed the preliminary work regarding the villages and towns to be established and identified their locations,” he said. 

The US and Turkey have conducted several air and ground patrols in the planned safe zone area.

Kurdish fighters have withdrawn from some of the areas concerned and destroyed fortifications as a sign of commitment to the US-Turkish agreement. However, the length and depth of the planned safe zone remains unclear. 

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