Pentagon stays mute on possible Turkish operation in NE Syria

Addressing a question about whether or not the US had knowledge about a possible Turkish offensive against the US-backed SDF, Kirby said that reporters would better address their questions to Ankara.
3 min read
02 November, 2021
Kirby added that the US works with the SDF 'specifically and solely on the ISIS threat in Syria' [Getty]

US Defence Department Spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Monday that he had no comment about reports of an imminent Turkish military operation against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Addressing a question about whether or not the Pentagon had knowledge about a possible Turkish offensive against the US-backed SDF, Kirby said that reporters would be better addressing their questions on the subject to Ankara.

In recent days, media reports have surfaced purporting that Turkey was preparing to launch an offensive against the SDF-controlled towns of Tel Rifaat and Kobane (Ayn Al-Arab).

Citing unnamed sources, these reports have suggested that Turkey was offering Russia the city of Ariha in exchange for their green-lighting of an operation against the SDF. Ariha is a border city in Idlib populated by large numbers of Syrian Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

There has been no official confirmation of such an operation by Turkey, Russia or the SDF. The area is mainly controlled by the former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA).

Syria's Bashar Al-Assad has repeatedly stated his ambition to retake opposition-held areas in northwest Syria.

The SDF last week restarted a forced conscription campaign of young men in Raqqa, Deir ez-Zour and Al-Hasakah, ahead of the rumoured Turkish campaign.

This is not the first time the Kurdish-dominated force enacted a conscription campaign and has caused considerable discontent especially among the Arab populations in Deir ez-Zour.

During the DoD press conference, Kirby added that the US works with the SDF "specifically and solely on the ISIS threat in Syria".

In October 2019, Turkey launched "Operation Peace Spring", its third operation against the SDF. Ahead of the operation, US troops pulled out from areas Turkey targeted following a call between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and then-US President Donald Trump.

There was a considerable backlash in Washington about the alleged deal with some dubbing it an abandonment of the US's Kurdish allies.

The US stressed that its partnership with the SDF was focused on combatting IS in the area, and was not a security guarantee for the Kurdish-dominated force.

The US has some 900 troops in Syria, dedicated to fighting IS alongside the SDF in the country's northeast and Syrian opposition group Maghawir al-Thawra (MAT) in the southeast at Al-Tanf base.

Turkey views the SDF, which is primarily made up of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), as an extension of the PKK.

Ankara has repeatedly stated that it considers the presence of the SDF on its southern border as a security threat.

The US's partnership with the SDF has created some friction between Ankara and Washington. In recent months, US officials have reiterated the US's commitment to stay in northeast Syria and its partnership with the SDF.