US officials revealed to the Wall Street Journal that Turkey is concentrating significant forces along the Syrian border, raising fears of an imminent invasion of territories controlled by the Washington-backed Kurds. These troop movements have intensified since the fall of the Assad regime in early December. According to these sources, Turkish forces include militia fighters, uniformed commandos and “a large number” of artillery, mainly concentrated near Kobane, a predominantly Kurdish Syrian town in Aleppo province. “The Turkish operation to cross the border could begin immediately,” one of the sources said.
In an urgent letter to President-elect Trump, Ilham Ahmed, a senior official in the Syrian Kurdish civil administration, warned: “Turkey’s goal is to achieve de facto control over our territory before you take office , and force you to deal with them as the rulers of our territory. If Turkey continues its invasion, the consequences will be disastrous.
The newspaper points out that a Turkish invasion could lead to the displacement of more than 200,000 Kurds from Kobane, as well as many Christian communities. The Kurdish official reminded Trump of his promise that “the United States would not abandon the Kurds,” asking him to use his “unique diplomatic channel” to convince Erdogan to stop a possible invasion.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Turkey last week to discuss with President Erdogan the future of Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. According to reports, Blinken also asked Erdogan for guarantees that he would limit actions against Kurdish fighters. “We are pushing to contain them,” a US source said.
World
