Al-Jazeera, citing official Turkish sources, reported that Turkey has “taken all the necessary military and logistical preparations to carry out the military operation north of Syria” with the goal of taking control of Tal Rifaat, Manbij and Kobane. This comes as Kurdish officials refused demands from Turkey to withdraw from the region and prevent another military incursion.
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The Turkish forces also stated that “the military operations will be carried out accurately and without any threat to the safety of the American and Russian forces,” adding that “the American side has expressed its understanding of our demands and our information indicates that they have withdrawn from some sites.”
The threat of another Turkish military incursion into northern Syria has been around since June, when Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey will be launching another military operation in Northern Syria targeting Kurdish YPG forces, saying they intend on “clearing” the Kurdish held cities of Tal Rifaat and Manbij. Erdogan, however, did not give a timeline. The announcement echoed that of past Turkish operations against the Kurds, such as the 2018 Operation Olive Branch and 2019 Operation Peace Spring, which both had the goal of establishing a 30km “buffer zone” along the border in northern Syria to push back Kurdish forces.
Over the past week, Turkey has ramped up airstrikes targeting Kurdish positions in Iraq and northern Syria in an operation coined “Claw-Sword” amid continued threats of ground force operations. The renewed targeting of Kurdish forces comes in the aftermath of the November 13 Istanbul bombing, which left six dead and 80 wounded. Turkish authorities have accused the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) of carrying out the attack and had pledged revenge. The PKK has denied involvement, further accusing Turkey of using the incident as a pretext for more military operations against the Kurds. Turkey considers the PKK, YPG, and SDF to be one in the same and denotes all armed Kurdish groups as terrorist organizations.
Both Kurdish and American officials have warned that a Turkish military operation in northern Syria would disrupt anti-ISIS operations and threaten the already fragile security situation in the region.
