The Turkish military is building up new forces along the border with Syria, raising alarm that Ankara is preparing for a full-scale incursion into territory held by the US-backed Syrian Kurds. This fact was announced by senior American officials to the Wall Street Journal.
The forces include militia fighters and commandos in Turkish uniform and artillery in large numbers that are concentrated near Kobani, a Kurdish-majority Syrian city on the northern border with Turkey, US officials said, the WSJ quoted. A Turkish cross-border operation could be imminent, one US official said.
The ramp-up of preparations, which began after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, appears similar to Turkish military moves ahead of its 2019 invasion of northeastern Syria. "We are focused on this fact and are pressing for restraint," another US official said, the WSJ points out.
Ilham Ahmed, an official in the Syrian Kurdish civil administration, told President-elect Donald Trump that a Turkish military operation seemed likely, urging him to pressure Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan not to send troops across the border.
Turkey's goal is to "establish de facto control over our land before you take office, forcing you to engage with them as rulers of our territory," Ahmed wrote to Trump in a letter first seen by The Wall Street Journal. "If Turkey continues with its occupation, the consequences will be catastrophic."
The threat from Turkey has left the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which have joined US troops in northeastern Syria to attack remnants of the Islamic State, in a vulnerable position weeks before the Biden administration leaves office.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Turkey last week to discuss Syria's future with Erdogan and seek assurances that Ankara would limit operations against Kurdish fighters.
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