ANKARA/BEIRUT- President Tayyip Erdogan warned on Wednesday that Turkeywould extend its military operation in Syria to the town of Manbij, a movethat could potentially bring Turkish forces into confrontation with thoseof their NATO ally the United States.
Turkey’s air and ground operation, now in its fifth day, targetsU.S.-backed Kurdish YPG fighters in the Afrin region and has opened a newfront in Syria’s multi-sided civil war. A push toward Manbij some 100 km(60 miles) east of Afrin could threaten U.S. plans to stabilize a swath ofnortheast Syria.
Turkish forces and their rebel allies launched Operation Olive Branch inAfrin because Ankara sees the YPG as an extension of a militant Kurdishgroup that has waged a three-decade insurgency in Turkey’s largely Kurdishsoutheast.
“With the Olive Branch operation, we have once again thwarted the game ofthose sneaky forces whose interests in the region are different,” Erdogansaid in a speech to provincial leaders in Ankara.
“Starting in Manbij, we will continue to thwart their game.”
Differences over Syria policy have already strained Turkey’s relations withWashington almost to breaking point. For the United States, the YPG is akey ally against both Islamic State jihadists and Syrian President Basharal-Assad’s forces.
A Turkish operation in Manbij would be fraught with risk due to thepresence of U.S. military personnel in and around the town. They weredeployed there last March to deter Turkish and U.S.-backed rebels fromattacking each other and have also carried out training missions in Manbij.
President Donald Trump plans to raise the U.S. concerns over the Turkishoffensive in a telephone call with Erdogan expected on Wednesday, a seniorU.S. official said.
In an interview with Reuters, Turkey’s government spokesman said he saw asmall possibility that Turkish forces could come face-to-face with the U.S.troops in Manbij.
U.S.-backed Syrian fighters in the Manbij area have deployed to frontlinesto confront any Turkish assault and are in contact with the U.S.-ledcoalition over defending the town of Manbij, their spokesman SharfanDarwish said on Wednesday.