US Warns Turkey against Attack on Syria

The US DoD said it had established an unspecified number of observation posts on the Syrian-Turkish border to deter incursions

US Warns Turkey against Attack on Syria

A Turkish convoy of military vehicles on its way to the Syrian border, December 13 (Photo: AP)

The US Department of Defense has voiced concerns over a Turkish military operation into northeast Syria, warning Ankara that such a move would be "unacceptable."

DoD spokesman Cmdr. Sean Robertson said on December 12 that the US military had established observation posts on the Turkish-Syrian border. “Unilateral military action into northeast Syria by any party, particularly as US personnel may be present or in the vicinity, is of grave concern. We would find any such actions unacceptable.

"Coordination and consultation between the US and Turkey is the only approach to address issues of security concern in this area," he added.

Cmdr. Robertson said the statement was a response to comments made by Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who said earlier on December 12, “We will launch an operation east of the Euphrates within a matter of days to save it from a separatist terrorist organization.”

Most of northeast Syria is controlled by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which have been the US's primary partner against the Islamic State extremists in Syria. However, Turkey is concerned about the growing power of a Kurdish group that it considers to be synonymous with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The Turkish military carried out airstrikes against Kurdish forces in northern Iraq rather than Syria the night before. The Ministry of Defense said more than 20 manned and unmanned aircraft attacked more than 30 targets in the Sinjar and Mount Karajak areas.

 

[Source: Jane’s]