TEHRAN – Tensions are on the rise between Turkey and the US after PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan warned that his country’s army plan to expand theirinvasion of the Kurdish-held territories in Syria from Afrin to Manbijwhere some 3,000 US military forces are deployed.
Since the start of Operation “Olive Branch” by Ankara and its alliedmilitants, Turkey has stressed that its forces would spread to the East andnow Erdogan says his army would soon invade Manbij and continue the assaultto the border with Iraq some 900km away.
“We will be clearing our borders of terrorists up to the territory of Iraq.Manbij will be also cleared of terrorists, as we promised. I am addressingthose who urge us to stop the operation as soon as possible — if you werehit by missiles, what would you do?” Erdogan said in remarks that aredeemed as implied threat to the US that has stationed some 3,000 militarymen in the Kurdish-held city in Syria’s Northwestern province of Aleppo.
As Erdogan warned that Turkey will rid Syria’s Manbij of terrorists afterAfrin and nobody should be bothered by this, US claimed that its militaryforces are deployed in and around Manbij to deter Turkish andWashington-backed fighters from attacking each other, a claim that hasalready been refuted by the Kurds.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also warned that it was”necessary for them (US) to immediately withdraw from Manbij” as well astake “more concrete steps rather than words” to end support for the SyrianKurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).
A Turkish assault on Manbij could bring its forces into direct conflictwith the Americans, with unpredictable results, while the US has kept calmabout its decision over a pull out from the town, and sometimes sends mixedmessages.
As the United States has promised once again to stop arming Syria-basedKurdish militants whom Turkey considers a threat to its security, a leadingUS military figure declared that Washington troops will not withdraw fromManbij, as it means that Hundreds of US troops risk being caught up inAnkara’s military push into Northern Syria as Turkish top officials pledgeto move into Manbij.
Ankara said late November 2017 that US President Donald Trump told Turkey’sPresident that he had issued instructions that weapons should not beprovided to Kurdish fighters in Syria. But Washington continued providingKurdish fighters with more military hardware in Syria despite Trump’spromise to Erdogan to halt arms shipment to them.
Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of the United States Central Command,said that withdrawing US forces from Manbij is “not something we arelooking into”.
The Pentagon also would not answer questions about the future of US troopsdeployed to the key town in Syria amid demands by Ankara that Americanforces withdraw to allow for a Turkish military incursion againstWashington-backed Kurdish forces there.
“They’ll stay or they’ll go. Don’t know what the answer will be,” thedirector of the US military’s joint staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Frank McKenzie,stressed, calling it “a policy decision.”
Also in a phone call with Erdogan, Trump has raised concerns that Ankara’songoing military operation in neighboring Syria, if not wound down, mayresult in a direct clash between the two NATO allies, as Kurdish fighterslook to the US to help in the fight against Turkish troops in Manbij, someare accusing Washington of double standards after it did nothing to protectAfrin from “Turkish occupation”.