British newspaper talks about Turkish “grand plan” in Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – A British newspaper published a report in which it talked about Turkish infiltration into Syria’s north and its intentions for a greater plan, exploiting Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, also known as Syrian National Army (SNA).
The British newspaper Financial Times described in a report the Turkish infiltration into the Syrian territory as “the biggest Turkish footprint in an Arab state.”
The report described the Turkish domination over the Syrian north, saying, “Syrian schoolchildren study Turkish as a second language. The sick are handled in Turkish-built hospitals. The Turkish lira is the dominant forex and Turkey’s state-owned postal service, PTT, is used to switch salaries to Syrian staff and host the financial institution accounts of native councils.”
“Turkey trains and pays the wage of greater than 50,000 Syrian insurgent fighters, has deployed its personal troops inside Syria, constructed hulking army bases on the frontier and an 873km-long border wall,” the report added.
The main goal of Turkey, the report says, is to weaken the Kurds, whom Washington views as very important in fighting ISIS.
The report pointed out that Erdogan wishes “to offer so-called secure zones to encourage the return of among the 3.7mn Syrian refugees who fled to Turkey.”
The Financial Times cited Western diplomats as saying, “There are few indicators of serious Turkish army exercise to counsel an operation is imminent, and Russia, Iran and the US have warned in opposition to any incursion deeper into Syria that might danger sparking a wider bout of battle.”
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently announced plans to carry out another major military cross-border incursion into northern Syria. Erdogan specified his targets in the two northern Syrian cities of Manbij and Tel Rifaat.
On July 1, Erdogan said that Ankara’s new military operation in northern Syria could begin at any moment.
“I always say that we can start [the incursion] at any moment at night. We should not worry and rush, especially since we are working in the area,” Erdogan told reporters after returning from the NATO summit in Madrid.
“Syria intervention is costing Ankara about $2bn yearly. Turkey has 4,000 to five,000 troops contained in the areas it controls and a few 8,000 troopers round Idlib,” said Murat Yeşiltaş, an analyst at Seta.
Yeşiltaş suggested that the present Turkish plan, taking Tel Rifaat and Manbij, would reinforce Ankara’s longer-term safety and financial goals.
The newspaper added, citing a source in the city of Azaz, that the SNA factions are loyal to Turkey, even though they know that it only cares about its own interests in the area.
“There are a number of components behind the timing of Erdoğan’s threats of a recent offensive, together with the notion that Russia’s battle in Ukraine has distracted Moscow and the west, in addition to the president’s want to rally supporters forward of elections scheduled for June 2023 at a time of deepening financial turmoil in Turkey,” the newspaper said, citing analysts.