Türkiye’s National Defense Ministry said Thursday that military units took all measures for stability in the region amid a new round of conflict in neighboring Syria.
Türkiye is among the regional actors that will be directly influenced by the conflict. Syria’s northeast is home to a stronghold of the YPG, the Syria wing of the PKK terrorist group, which has killed thousands in Türkiye since the 1980s. Türkiye also hosts the largest Syrian refugee community composed of those who fled the country more than a decade ago. Ankara recently sought to normalize ties with the Assad regime after a lengthy lull, though Damascus apparently failed to respond fully to the normalization call.
The ministry’s press adviser, Brig. Adm. Zeki Aktürk, told reporters at a weekly press briefing in the capital, Ankara, that Türkiye was in close cooperation and coordination with all regional counterparts amid developments in Syria. Aktürk repeated Turkish authorities’ earlier statements on the issue, noting that the latest developments stemmed from Syria’s internal dynamics and the regime’s failure to properly respond to opposing forces’ demands, which led to long unresolved problems.
Aktürk underlined that Türkiye adhered to agreements regarding operation zones in Syria’s north and expected its counterparts to adhere to deals as well. Aktürk did not elaborate, but Türkiye backs Syrian opposition forces except Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which leads the current offensive while Russia supports the Assad regime. Türkiye and Russia launched joint patrols on the M4 highway on March 15, 2020, days after agreeing to a cease-fire deal in the Idlib region.
The deal included establishing a security strip extending 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) on the northern and southern sides of M4. The goal was to open the strategic key highway to traffic, ensure control, surveil the terrorist groups in the region and survey the situation in civilian settlements.
But attacks from regional groups increased on Turkish and Russian military convoys during patrols, with vehicles taking severe damage. When a Russian soldier was injured during an attack on a joint patrol troop, the sides announced patrols were on halt indefinitely. A few months ago, media outlets reported plans to resume patrols.
Separately, in October 2019, Moscow had promised the PKK/YPG terrorists would be removed 30 kilometers from the border on the M4 road and in the area outside the Operation Peace Spring area, which Ankara launched in April 2019, but it failed to keep its promise. Russian troops were deployed in some PKK/YPG-controlled border areas of northern Syria following a 2019 agreement that sought to avert a previous Turkish operation possibility. Terrorist groups captured Manbij in 2016 with the support of the United States. The U.S. pledged the group would leave the town once controlled by Daesh after elements of the other terrorist group became clear, but the PKK/YPG retained control of Manbij since then.
Aktürk stated that Türkiye supported the territorial integrity of Syria, and it won’t allow the PKK/YPG, “a serious threat to Syria’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and regional security,” to exploit instability in the region. “Our stance on the fight against terrorist groups is clear,” he stressed.
In parallel with anti-regime forces’ advance toward Aleppo, the Syrian National Army (SNA) of the opposition has launched Operation Dawn of Freedom to prevent the PKK/YPG from seizing a key route. The operation succeeded in capturing the strategic town of Tal Rifaat from terrorists. Media outlets reported that SNA NOW seeks to capture Manbij.
On Thursday, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported that the PKK/YPG was reinforcing its members in Manbij amid developments. Reports say additional terrorists are being dispatched to the town from areas controlled by the PKK/YPG east of Euphrates. The group also advanced through an area controlled by the regime for a new supply line to Manbij. the PKK/YPG launched an attack on SNA forces south of Manbij on Wednesday in a bid to fully control that area.