Mr. Erdogan has been threatening since May to order a large-scale ground operation to be launched in the Syrian north, but the Nov. 13 bomb blast in the heart of Istanbul, for which his government blamed the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) and the YPG (People's Protection Units), may accelerate developments.
Since Sunday, "we have been crushing terrorists with our planes and drones," the Turkish head of state said during a speech yesterday. "God willing, we will soon annihilate them with our soldiers, with our cannons and with our tanks."
At dawn on Sunday, the Turkish air force launched Operation Flesh Sword, hitting some 89 PKK and YPG positions in northern Iraq and northern Syria, killing some forty Kurdish fighters, according to the non-governmental organization Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Last night, Turkish artillery shelling[/B] continued against the iconic town of Kobani, a YPG stronghold seized in 2015 from the hands of Western-backed Islamic State (IS) jihadists, the same NGO said.
Inside the day, new strikes by Turkish UAVs were reported, notably against a joint base of Kurdish forces and the US-led international anti-jihadist coalition, 25 kilometers from the town of Hasakah, where two people were killed, according to Kurdish forces and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Five civilians, including a child, were also killed in Azaz, in Aleppo province, while three Syrian soldiers were killed and several others wounded in a bombing of an airbase not far from Azaz.
Other bombings targeted an oil well near the town of al-Qahtaniyah, close to the border, a French Agency correspondent noted.
"De-escalation"
"They want to establish a terrorist state around us, we cannot allow it. Protecting our borders and our nation is our responsibility and duty," Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu said.
[/P]The Turkish government will make sure that those responsible for terrorist acts on the country's territory "pay", President Erdogan asserted the day before yesterday, Monday.
His statements, following the firing of rockets from Syria that claimed the lives of two people, including a child, in the southeastern border town of Karkamis, prompted the US and Russian governments to react.
Washington and Moscow have been engaged in the war in Syria, which has claimed the lives of about half a million people and uprooted millions more since 2011.
"We call for a de-escalation in Syria to protect civilians and support our shared goal of defeating the Islamic State," noted State Department spokesman Ned Price.
The US has offered support to the YPG, Syria's main Kurdish organization, in its fight against IS jihadists, playing a key role in regaining control of Kobani in 2015.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, acknowledged that Turkey remains exposed to a "terrorist threat" and "has the right to defend itself and defend its citizens."
However, he added, these "cross-border" operations "may lead to a reaction by some of our partners in the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces, of which the YPG is a key component), which would limit their ability to continue the fight against the Islamic State."
"We want to be able to keep the pressure on IS. That network has worn off, but it is still () a threat. Accordingly, we would like our partners in the GCC to continue to keep the pressure on," Kirby explained.
"Risk of destabilization"
For its part, Russia expressed "hope" that Turkey would show "restraint" and refrain from "any use of excessive force" in Syria.
"We understand Turkey's () concerns. But at the same time, we call on all parties to refrain from any initiative that could lead to serious destabilization," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
On Monday, Berlin and Paris called on Ankara to act in a "proportionate" manner and "show more restraint" respectively.
For its part, Turkey demanded yesterday that its allies, above all the US, "stop all support" for the YPG.
The SDF assures that it is seeking a "de-escalation".
From 2016 to 2019, Turkey's military conducted three large-scale operations in northern Syria against Kurdish militias and other organizations.
Ankara has repeatedly expressed its intention to create a "security zone" 30 kilometers deep on its southern border.
For US analyst Anthony Skinner, the conditions now exist for Turkey to launch a "robust" operation against the PKK and YPG as "the June 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections" approach. In his view, President Erdogan is determined to play "the security card" ahead of the elections.
Source: APM
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