Turkey Warns of Military Action Against Kurdish Forces in Syria
Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, has issued a warning of possible military action against the YPG, a group Ankara associates with the PKK, if they fail to comply with Turkey’s conditions. Ankara is demanding a “bloodless” transition following the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last month.
In an interview with CNN Turk on Tuesday, Fidan stated, “We will do what’s necessary” if the People’s Protection Units (YPG) do not meet Turkey’s demands. While voicing support for Syria’s new leadership, Fidan emphasized that they are capable of addressing the YPG threat independently but did not rule out the possibility of a Turkish military operation.
The overthrow of al-Assad by opposition forces last month has increased the likelihood of Turkey intervening directly against Kurdish forces in Syria. Ankara accuses the YPG of having strong ties to the PKK, a group labeled as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union. The PKK has been involved in a decades-long conflict with Turkey, which has claimed over 40,000 lives.
Turkey considers the YPG’s presence in Syria a critical security concern, viewing the group as intrinsically linked to the PKK and sharing similar ethno-nationalist separatist objectives.
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