US support to SDF in Syria threatens Turkey’s national security – Erdogan
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that US activities with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria threaten Turkey’s national security following an extension of the national emergency order on Syria by the US.
Erdogan’s statement came after US President, Joe Biden, declared on Oct. 12 the extension of the national emergency for one more year with respect to the situation in Syria, especially after Turkey’s actions to conduct a military offensive into northeast Syria.
In return Erdogan said, “The activities carried out by the USA in this country [Syria] with the PKK’s extensions in Syria pose an extraordinary threat to Turkey’s national security.”
Erdogan said on Oct. 9 that the ‘first phase’ of Turkey’s operations against northern Syria and Iraq has ended.
From Oct. 5 to Oct. 9, Turkey launched many airstrikes, artillery shells, and drone strikes on 224 locations in northern and northeastern Syria, targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure such as gas, water, electricity, and oil facilities, according to the Monitoring and Documentation Department of North Press.
The strikes took place following a statement by Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan, in which he threatened to strike a range of targets in Syria and Iraq in retaliation for a suicide bombing attack in Ankara on October 1. In the same day, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been waging an armed insurgency against Turkey for the last 40 years, claimed responsibility for the attack.
On Oct. 4, Fidan claimed that the two attackers had been trained in northern Syria in areas held by the SDF, which Ankara views as an offshoot of the PKK. “From now on, all infrastructure, large facilities and energy facilities belonging to (armed Kurdish groups) in Iraq and Syria are legitimate targets for our security forces,” he said.
On Oct. 5, the Pentagon confirmed that US troops shot down a Turkish drone that entered a restricted operating zone which they assessed as a “potential threat” to American forces.
Erdogan added that the shooting down of the drone has created a security problem between both NATO allies.