Turkey strikes at Syrian Kurds

On November 20, the Turkish Air Force launched air strikes on Kurdish-occupied areas in northern Syria and Iraq as part of Operation Claw-Sword. The purpose of the strikes was to “neutralize” the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) recognized by Ankara, as well as the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which the Turkish authorities consider affiliated with the PKK. This was reported by the Turkish Ministry of Defense. On Twitter, the Turkish military wrote that “the time has come for calculation” and “the villains will be held accountable for the treacherous attacks,” referring to the terrorist attack in Istanbul on November 14.

Airstrikes were carried out in the area of ​​the Syrian cities of Ain al-Arab (Kobani), Tel Rifat, Manbij, Abu Rasin, Ain Digna. Also, the air base occupied by the Kurds, Menag, El-Malikiya, the western regions of Tel Abyad, Maraanaz, Ain Issa, were also hit. The operation, according to the Turkish military, involved more than 50 fighter jets and 20 attack drones – this is one of the largest actions of its kind for the Turkish Air Force.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, announcing the successful completion of a series of airstrikes, stressed that the operation was carried out by Ankara on the basis of the right to self-defense in accordance with Art. 51 of the UN Charter. In addition to aviation, artillery also struck. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave the order to start airstrikes on November 17, upon returning from the G20 summit on the Indonesian island of Bali, the Turkish TRT TV channel reported.

The strikes were targeted, mainly aviation was used to deliver them, and Turkish planes did not fly into Syrian airspace, says Amur Gadzhiev, a researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. According to him, the US position on a possible next Turkish military ground operation has become tougher compared to May-June, when the US increased its presence at the base near Kobani.

In early June, Erdogan announced at the congress of the ruling party his intention to completely clear Manbij and Tel Rifat “of terrorists” and to ensure a 30-kilometer security zone throughout the Turkish-Syrian border. The fact that Russia is wary of a possible large-scale military operation against the Kurds in Syria was told to journalists by the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov. At the same time, the special envoy of the Russian President for Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, stressed that Moscow considers Ankara’s possible operation on Syrian territory “unreasonable” and calls for a peaceful resolution of the issue.

Now, Hajiyev notes, Washington is against a ground operation against the YPG, which the Americans continue to use in their own interests, providing them with support. The expert recalled that in early November, an interdepartmental delegation from the administration of US President Joe Biden met with representatives of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a political organization of the Syrian Kurds. Under such circumstances, a new operation is unlikely, Hajiyev said.

In addition, the expert says, Iran’s tough position on the ground operation in Syria has also been preserved. Russia, which warned against this Erdogan in June, is now more preoccupied with the Ukrainian direction, but it is also not a supporter of Ankara’s military actions in Syria, Hajiyev says. Israel, with which Turkey began to establish relations this year, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates are also against it, the expert notes.

Finally, in recent months, Ankara has repeatedly stated that it does not exclude the resumption of dialogue with Damascus after the 2023 elections in Turkey, Hajiyev said. So the operation could put an end to the establishment of relations with Syria, and especially negatively, according to the expert, this could be reacted on the eve of the summit of the Astana troika planned for the end of November (a group of Russia, Turkey and Iran, whose goal is to resolve the military conflict in Syria).

The current strikes on Syria could theoretically become a prologue for a Turkish ground military operation, Viktor Nadein-Ranevsky, a senior researcher at the IMEMO RAS, objects. According to him, at least the bombing had been planned for a long time. If a large-scale operation does not follow, these actions will be a demonstration of Erdogan’s determination on the eve of the 2023 election year, the expert believes.

According to Nadein-Ranevsky, neither the name nor the appearance of the woman detained after the attack are Kurdish. Moreover, the PKK expressed condolences to those killed in the attack in Istanbul, did not take responsibility for it – it usually attacks only the security forces, Turkish officials and renegades from their midst, the expert believes. He also notes that the YPG is not subordinate to the PKK.

Already in the evening of November 20, a Turkish checkpoint on the border with Syria was shelled, one military man and two policemen were injured, Anadolu reported.