Expanding US patrols in NE Syria may anger Turkey – officials
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The US prepares to resume full ground operations alongside Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in areas in northern Syria, a step that officials saw on Tuesday may inflame relations with Turkey more.
The Washington Post cited US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, as saying such a move may risk further inflaming US-Turkish relations.
US commanders restricted such movements after the recent Turkish attacks on the areas held by SDF, which Turkey blames for Istanbul bombing on November 13.
Since November 20, Turkish forces have escalated their ground and air bombardment of many areas in northern Syria, severely damaging infrastructures, and causing civilian and military casualties.
Preoccupied countering the Turkish military escalation, the SDF announced on November 23 suspending its mission against the Islamic State Organization (ISIS).
Three US officials said it is possible that Turkey could follow through on its threat to send ground forces into northern Syria this month, which jeopardizes the Americans there and upends the stable situation there.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed on November 21 that there are talks with parties to the conflict of Syria to carry out a ground military operation on northern Syria and northern Iraq.
Col. Joe Buccino, US CENTCOM spokesman was quoted by the Washington Post as saying, “We are concerned with any action that may jeopardize the hard-fought gains made in security and stability in Syria.”
“We’re concerned for the security of the SDF…in a place where we’ve withdrawn most troops,” Buccino added.
The SDF are important for the process of defeating ISIS, as they oversees Hawl Camp that shelters the families of ISIS who live in squalid conditions, unable to return to their home countries, according to Buccino.
The Washington Post said, citing Bradley Bowman, a foreign policy and military analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, that without the SDF, ISIS would likely still hold broad swaths of territory, or that the US military would have suffered thousands of casualties attempting to root the militants out on its own.