RTTue, 15 Oct 2019 16:37 UTC
© US Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Paul LabbeF-15 fighter jet (file photo)
US fighter jets and gunship helicopters were sent to scare off Turkish-backed militants in northern Syria after they came "very close" to US troops at Ain Issa, the Pentagon said. Washington has also sent a complaint to Ankara.
F-15 fighters and AH-64 Apache gunships were used in the "show of force" on Tuesday, an unnamed US official told reporters,
after the militants "violated a standing agreement" not to threaten US troops. A formal complaint was lodged with the Turkish military through diplomatic channels, the official added.
Though US troops have been withdrawing from Syria for the past week,
some Special Forces operators were apparently still in the area of Ain Issa, located on the strategic M-4 highway about halfway between the Syrian-Turkish border and the former Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) "capital" of Raqqa.
Last week, Turkey launched 'Operation Peace Spring' with the stated purpose of establishing a "safe zone" inside Syria - mainly on territory held by Kurdish militias allied with the US, but which Ankara considers terrorist organizations.
Rather than Turkish regulars, however, the troops used in the operation appear to be jihadist militants, which similarly happened in 2016 during 'Operation Euphrates Shield' that targeted the Kurds around Afrin.
While the Western press has previously referred to these militants as "moderate rebels," a senior US official was quoted on Tuesday calling them "thugs and bandits and pirates that should be wiped off the face of the earth."
Meanwhile, the Kurds have struck an agreement with the Syrian government troops to move to the border and block the militants. Previously, the US blocked any attempts to return the territories liberated from IS by its Kurdish allies to the government in Damascus, as they contained most of Syria's oil and agricultural resources.
Comment: Bouthaina Shaabana, political adviser to Syrian President Bashar Assad,
told RT that Turkey should be blamed for the heightened risk of an ISIS resurgence in Syria:
"Every war creates chaos and chaos is a good climate for terrorism. So this invasion creates better climate for ISIS terrorists," she said, referring to the terrorist group by its old name. "But the major force that is fighting for Turkey now are the Jabhat al-Nusra. So the terrorists are led by Turkey now to occupy part of the Syrian land."
And from beginning it was Turkey, who allowed terrorists from all over the world to cross the border and fight this war against the Syrian people.
"We see them as an occupying force. They did not come by an invitation from the Syrian government. They had nothing to do on our land. And the reason they were here was to protect terrorists," Shaaban said.
...
"The Kurds are part and parcel of our society. As you know, Syria has many ethnicities, many [religious sects]... The government has always been trying to ask [the Kurds] to cooperate, to help defend our borders. And during this war we supplied [some of the] Kurds with weapons and they fought alongside with the Syrian Army against terrorism."
Erdogan has accepted an invitation to vist the Kremlin for talks. Meanwhile, he
refused to speak with the Pence/Pompeo delegation planned for tomorrow, saying he would only speak directly with Trump. But hours later, Erdogan's comms director did some damage control, saying Erdogan was speakig of a different delegation, and would indeed peak with the two P's. Erdogan had the gall to say the
following, unironically:
"There are some leaders who are trying to mediate.... There has never been any such thing in the history of the Turkish republic as the state sitting at the same table with a terrorist organization," Erdogan told parliament.
"Our proposal is that right now, tonight, all the terrorists lay down their arms, their equipment and everything, destroy all their traps and get out of the safe zone that we have designated," he said.
On October 15, Erdogan said, "We can never declare a cease-fire."
We suppose Turkey just uses terrorists to fight its wars - without sitting at the same table.
He's still not that worried about U.S.
sanctions:
"Until the operation achieves all the set goals, it will continue. Our goals are clear, we are not worried about [US] sanctions. Our goal is to eliminate terrorists within 32 kilometres [about 20 miles] from the border. We are holding talks with the US and Russia for field coordination," Erdogan said on Tuesday.
Erdogan also said that he told US President Donald Trump that Turkey would never declare a ceasefire in northern Syria.
"I talked to [US President Donald] Trump yesterday, he said that we should declare a ceasefire, but we will by no means do this. I told him that we will also by no means sit at the negotiations table with a terrorist organization. I told Trump to send a delegation, so that we can discuss everything," Erdogan told reporters on Tuesday, as broadcast on national television.
Turkish President added that Turkey has nothing against the Syrian government forces controlling the city of Manbij in the northeast of Syria, as long as terrorists are wiped out in the area.
"In the end it's their [Syrian] land," Erdogan stressed on Tuesday, telling Turkish journalists that the entry of Syrian government forces is not "a very negative development" but it is important that the area is cleared of terrorist organizations.
According to the Turkish president, the residents of Manbij are predominantly (85-90%) Arabs, not Kurds, whom Ankara believes to be linked to the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), branded a terrorist organization by Turkey.
"We ask them [Syrian government]: 'Will the terrorists remain or not?' And I have told reputable [Russian President Vladimir] Putin the same thing. If you are clearing Manbij of terrorists, please ensure this [that terrorists are eliminated]," Erdogan said.
...
Turkish Presidential Administration said that Erdogan told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that Turkey's Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria will significantly contribute to maintaining Syria's territorial integrity.
"Our president told his Russian colleague that Operation Peace Spring, along with contributing to the fight against terrorism, will also make a significant contribution to protecting Syria's territorial integrity and to the political settlement process," the Turkish presidential administration said in a Tuesday statement.
Qatar is so far the only Arab state
supporting Turkey's decision:
Qatari Defence Minister Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah defended Ankara's recent actions in Syria on Wednesday at the Global Security Forum in the country's capital Doha. He claimed that the current offensive in the northeast of the country doesn't amount to a crime and insisted that the international clamour surrounding the operation is unclear.
"We have been part of the military coalition in Syria since 2013 and nobody made a fuss about it. The Turkish operation in Syria is not a crime. However, there are many players in Syria whose crimes have not been condemned," Al Attiyah stressed.
He lauded the 'obvious' merit of Turkey's efforts to aid millions of Syrian refugees, and contended that Ankara's threats to open the borders and unleash the flow of refugees to the European Union are not empty promises.
At the same time, the minister underscored that the constant mention of Kurds in the context of the Turkish offensive is erroneous.
"It's a great mistake and provocation to lay emphasis on the Kurdish community. Kurds are a major portion of the Turkish society and we are now speaking about the fight against terrorists, so why should we limit our understanding of who terrorists are to Daesh and al-Qaeda*? There are other terrorist formations as well," he added.
Russian journalists got an inside peak at one of the American bases abandoned in a hurry by U.S. troops:
The U.S. military
destroyed another of its bases (near Ayn al-Arab/Kobani) after abandoning it. Russia and Damascus have politely
ensured the safe pullout of foreign troops from the northeast.
Manbig has been fully turned over to Damascus troops. Just look how sad the residents are:
See previous updates and analysis:
Comment: Bouthaina Shaabana, political adviser to Syrian President Bashar Assad, told RT that Turkey should be blamed for the heightened risk of an ISIS resurgence in Syria: Erdogan has accepted an invitation to vist the Kremlin for talks. Meanwhile, he refused to speak with the Pence/Pompeo delegation planned for tomorrow, saying he would only speak directly with Trump. But hours later, Erdogan's comms director did some damage control, saying Erdogan was speakig of a different delegation, and would indeed peak with the two P's. Erdogan had the gall to say the following, unironically: We suppose Turkey just uses terrorists to fight its wars - without sitting at the same table.
He's still not that worried about U.S. sanctions: Qatar is so far the only Arab state supporting Turkey's decision: Russian journalists got an inside peak at one of the American bases abandoned in a hurry by U.S. troops:
The U.S. military destroyed another of its bases (near Ayn al-Arab/Kobani) after abandoning it. Russia and Damascus have politely ensured the safe pullout of foreign troops from the northeast.
Manbig has been fully turned over to Damascus troops. Just look how sad the residents are:
See previous updates and analysis: