Turkey threatened on Tuesday to establish a military operation against Kurdish troops in Syria unless they agreed to allow Ankara to have a “bloodless” change following the demise of President Bashar Assad.
” We will do what’s necessary” if the Kurdish-led People’s Protection Units ( YPG) fail to agree to Turkish demands, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told CNNTurk television.
When asked what that might necessitate, he said a “military functioning”.
Turkey views the YPG, which is leading the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces ( SDF), as a terrorist organization affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party ( PKK), which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish government for decades.
Ultimatum, according to Fidan, is “obvious.”
The possibility of Turkey adjacent in Syria after Assad’s drop to Islamist-led insurgents last month was raised by Ankara’s accusations of links to the forbidden PKK.
” Those foreign soldiers who came from Turkey, Iran and Iraq had left Syria quickly. We are waiting, and we don’t see any prep or objective in this direction at this time, Fidan said.
” The ultimatum we gave them ( the YPG) through the Americans is obvious”, he added.
Turkey has carried out numerous floor operations in Syria over the past nine years to entice Kurdish forces apart from its borders.
