ANKARA – The military operation in Northern Syria continues to press aheaddespite warnings from Washington that the White House could sanction Ankarafor the offensive against the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Turkish forces continue to press forward with a ground offensive againstKurdish militants, named “Operation Peace Spring”, for a fourth straightday, advancing into northern Syria. Ankara plans to create a safe zone andpeace corridor in the region, to the east of the Euphrates.
The Turkish authorities previously agreed on the issue with the UnitedStates, but later accused Washington of stalling the negotiations and vowedto create a safe zone without help from their allies, if necessary.
The contradictions between the two NATO countries resulted in the USwithdrawing from several outposts and ignoring the operation. US DefenceSecretary Mark Esper “strongly encouraged” Turkey to stop the offensive,stressing it is destabilising the region and warning of “seriousconsequences”.
Damascus, in turn, has decried the deal between Turkey and the UnitedStates, calling both occupants, as they are operating in Syria withoutpermission from its government. It also stressed that the operation maylead to the resurgence of ISIS in the country.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the launch of “OperationPeace Spring” in northeastern Syria on Wednesday. The offensive aims toforce the predominantly-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces and the remainingDaesh militants out of the region.
According to Ankara, the op was launched under Article 51 of the UN Charterand UN Security Council Resolutions regarding the fight against terrorism.Turkey considers US-backed Kurdish troops as part of the Kurdistan Workers’Party (PKK) that Ankara has labelled as a terror group.
