Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday urged the al-Qaeda-linked jihadi rebels who toppled Syrian dictator Bashar Assad to consider teaming up with Turkish forces against the Kurds.
“Opposition groups should be united now,” Fidan said — by which he meant every “opposition group” except the Kurds.
“We hope they can come together and start working in an orderly manner to have a good transition period, to end by including all the parties inside Syria,” he said.
Fidan said Turkey’s top priorities were “a peaceful transition, preserving Syria’s territorial integrity and curbing the influence of Syrian Kurdish groups.”
“This is my key message to everyone: Avoid bloodshed. All communities in Syria must be included,” he said, again meaning all communities except the Kurds.
Fidan went so far as to state that Turkey is prepared to work with allied Syrian militia groups to defeat both the Islamic State and the Kurdish-led, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which Turkey considers to be as much of a terrorist threat as ISIS.
“We are watchful and mindful to make sure that Daesh and the PKK are not taking advantage of this situation,” Fidan said. “We are in contact with our American partners. They understand how sensitive we are on this issue.”
“Daesh” is another name for ISIS. The PKK, or Kurdistan Workers Party, is a violent separatist Kurdish organization in Turkey. The Turkish government considers all Kurdish armed groups in Syria, including those supported by the United States, to be allies or outgrowths of the PKK.
Turkey has conducted several incursions into Syria since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, with the goal of pushing Syrian Kurdish militia groups away from the Turkish border. During these operations, Turkey made alliances with several militia groups opposed to the Syrian government, which operate under the collective name of the Syrian National Army (SNA). Some elements of the Syrian National Army were backed by the Obama administration when they called themselves the “Free Syrian Army.”
The SNA mobilized when the jihadi rebels, led by al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), reached the city of Hama, sensing an opportunity to grab some territory for themselves. SNA units quickly advanced over 120 miles late last week, pushing south from the Turkish border to capture the town of Rastan.
The SNA is fractious and loosely organized, despite years of Turkish effort to forge them into a more cohesive fighting force. Many Syrians view the SNA as little more than mercenaries hired by Turkey to secure land for its Kurd-free buffer zone. SNA units have been accused of perpetrating human rights abuses against Kurds living in Turkish-occupied Syria.
On Monday, the SNA announced it had taken control of Manbij, a city in northern Syria west of the Euphrates River that has been held by Kurdish forces ever since they liberated it from the Islamic State in 2016.
Eyewitnesses reported intense fighting between SNA and SDF forces in Manbij over the weekend. The Turkish-backed militias reportedly had help from “sleeper cells” living inside the Kurdish-held city. There are currently no U.S. forces stationed in Manbij.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday welcomed the “liberation” of Manbij and another town, Tel Rifaat, from control by Kurdish “terrorists.”
“The sole purpose of our cross-border operations is to protect our homeland and our citizens from terrorist attacks,” he said after a cabinet meeting in Ankara.
Erdogan faulted Bashar Assad for “arrogantly” rejecting Turkey’s calls for cooperation and dialogue and for his negligence in addressing the humanitarian plight of the Syrian people, many of whom sought refuge in Turkey.
“The Turkish nation will forever carry the honor of embracing the oppressed Syrians in their dark days,” he said. “Our sensitivity regarding Syria has never been based on self-interest. We have always looked at this issue from the perspective of conscience, always approached it with a sense of compassion.”
“We believe the strong winds of change sweeping across Syria will bring positive outcomes for the Syrian people, especially for the refugees,” he declared. “As of yesterday, a dark era has ended in Syria, bright days have begun.”
Kurdish groups in northeastern Syria issued a statement on Sunday calling for the Syrian public to “protect the achievements” of Kurdish administrations in their towns. They also called for a “comprehensive national dialogue” to build a “pluralistic, decentralized, and democratic Syria.”
“The SDF has proven itself to be an inclusive national force dedicated to protecting the people in all their diversity, committed to pluralism and democracy as foundations for building Syria’s future,” the statement said, striking a very different tone from Turkey’s exhortations to regard the SDF as a terrorist organization.
The SDF confirmed that its forces have fought Turkish-backed SNA militias for control of Manbij, although they disputed SNA claims to have captured the city. The SDF said Turkish warplanes assisted the SNA by bombing parts of Manbij.
Regional analysts told Reuters on Monday there was a serious danger of Syria becoming fragmented after the fall of Assad, much as Libya flew apart after the death of Moammar Qaddafi.
“Each one of these rebel groups is vying for supremacy; each one wants to be in charge. Each one thinks they can be Bashar al-Assad, and each one has allegiance to a foreign party funding his group. They will clash unless there is an effort by the UN and some regional countries with influence to unify them,” warned Gulf Research Center director Abdelaziz al-Sager.