Turkey on Brink of Engulfing Syria in New War Amid US-Allied Kurd Crisis
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is poised to engulf Syria in a new war with his planned invasion of the country’s north to decimate the U.S.-allied Syrian Kurds who helped President-elect Trump defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2019. The White House-brokered ceasefire between Turkey and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has been largely ignored by pro-Turkey forces and Erdoğan, according to Fox News information from northern Syria.
The SDF, which lost 12,000 fighters in its campaign to aid the U.S. in the victory over ISIS, is facing an existential crisis. An SDF source in northern Syria said the Syrian Opposition and the Syrian National Army, both aligned with Erdoğan’s government, are building up around Kobani from the east and west directions, subjecting the city to continuous Turkish armed drone and artillery targeting.
The U.S. has been accused of failing to rein in Erdoğan’s aggression, which could mean the escape of 10,000 ISIS terrorists held in SDF-run prisons. The SDF has had to redeploy its forces to counter Turkey’s campaign to depopulate northern Syria of SDF fighters, and the reemergence of ISIS in Syria could negatively affect American security, counter-terrorism experts argue.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are sending messages to the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration, with Sens. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., threatening to impose sanctions on Erdoğan. The senators wrote in a joint statement, “While Turkey has some legitimate security concerns that can be addressed, these developments are undermining regional security, and the United States cannot sit idly by.”