Turkey's military incursion into northern Syria against Kurdish militia opens yet another front in the seven-year Syrian conflict, and risks giving ISIS breathing room just as it was being suffocated.
Turkey has long warned that it will not tolerate control of much of its border with Syria by the "terrorist" Kurdish YPG militia -- even as the US has bolstered its support for the YPG as its proxy in the fight against ISIS.
In effect, one NATO member is trying to take down a group which is trained and armed by another and which has done much of the fighting against ISIS -- while Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fumes on the sidelines.
To Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the YPG are indistinguishable from the Kurdish separatist group in Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK.
The offensive -- euphemistically called "Operation Olive Branch" -- began with dozens of airstrikes Saturday. On Sunday, Turkish troops crossed into Syria, supported by rebel factions. The commander of one rebel group supporting the Turkish offensive said 13,000 fighters were involved.
Turkey's operation targets the Kurdish enclave of Afrin, adjacent to the province of Idlib. Turkish forces are deployed in Idlib to police one of the four '"deconfliction zones" designed by Russia to reduce the fighting in Syria. But the Turkish military has opted to use its presence in Idlib to open a new front against the Kurds.
The Turkish military said airstrikes had destroyed 45 targets, including barracks and weapon depots. The YPG says airstrikes have targeted at least 100 locations. But it also claims that resistance has blunted the early stages of the ground offensive.
Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag says the Turkish border town of Reyhanli was hit by a YPG missile fired from inside Syria, killing one and injuring more than 30. The Turkish border city of Kilis was also hit by rockets fired from Syria on Sunday, according to Turkey's state-run news agency, Anadolu.
In statement released Sunday, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), denied it was to blame for the attack on Reyhanli. "Allegations that we have launched attacks across the border are false and a pretext for Turkey to bring its military forces and its extremist opposition groups onto Syrian soil," the statement said.
Advance warning
Turkey notified both the US and Russia of its intentions. Turkish Chief of the General Staff Hulusi Akar was in Moscow last week to ensure there would be no unintended consequences; Russia has powerful anti-air radar in northern Syria. Some analysts believe Turkey has struck a bargain with the Russians -- help "deconfliction" in Idlib in return for a free hand in Afrin. Russia withdrew its modest military presence in the area ahead of the Turkish operation.
For its part, the YPG says it has been betrayed by the Russians, with whom it has previously cooperated. "We also hold Russia responsible for these attacks, and we hold Russia responsible for any massacre of civilians," it said in a statement Sunday.
Now everything depends on how extensive the Turkish operation is. If the goal is a limited buffer zone along the border, conflict may be contained. But if Turkey wants to seize the city of Afrin -- and then launches a second front to seize the town of Manbij further east, another war within the war in Syria will erupt. via CNNWorld
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