The Syria civil war, which broke out in 2011, seemingly came to an end after Syrian opposition forces announced the ‘liberation’ of the country from Assad’s rule as rebels stormed capital city Damascus even as President Bashar al-Assad managed to escape to Russia.
(File)
Syria civil war: Turkey, which allegedly played a major role in a purported plan by the United States and Israel to orchestrate the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has now reportedly drawn the ire of its NATO ally after reports emerged that Turkish forces attacked the fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)– a US-backed Syrian rebel group– in Manbij city and northern Syria.
Earlier this week, US officials revealed that the SDF had shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone, as they mistook it for a Turkish UAV. “We will see what happens in the next 48 hours. But if it happens again, we will not tolerate it again,” Al Arabiya English had quoted an anonymous US official as saying.
US and Turkey, both members of the NATO military alliance, have often been at loggerheads in the past over the former’s support to SDF and latter’s attacks against the rebel group. In December 2022, CIA director Bill Burns had warned the head of Turkey’s spy agency against conducting airstrikes on SDF locations in Syria as they were posing a threat to US forces in the region.
A year later, in October 2023, a Turkish military drone was shot down by a US F-16 fighter jet after it ventured into a US- restricted border less than half a kilometer from US troops. The US had cautioned Turkey against using its drones near its military bases.
US, Turkey at loggerhead over SDF
While the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has been tagged as a terrorist group by both US and Turkey, the SDF on the other hand, poses a unique conundrum for the NATO allies, with Ankara dubbing the rebel group as terrorists, while Washington lends them support. The situation has created a rift between the NATO allies as US considers SDF an “important ally” in its fight against the Islamic State, with SDF forces and nearly 900 US troops stationed in Syria conducting joint raids on ISIS bases in the region for years.
On Tuesday, General Michael “Erik” Kurilla, the US’ top military official in the Middle East, visited several bases in Syria where he
he met with US troops and SDF fighters, reiterating US support for the rebel group and their importance for the US cause in the region.
The latest waves of attacks on SDF bases in Syria by Turkey after the fall of the Assad regime, have become a cause of concern for the US, prompting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to visit Ankara later this week.
‘US won’t allow ISIS to…’
Notably, Israel launched a massive assault in Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, destroying crucial military infrastructure and capturing the buffer zone near the Golan Heights region, while the US also launched its biggest onslaught on the Islamic State in recent years, using B-52 bombers, F-15 and A-10 bombers to strike as many as 75 ISIS hideouts.
“The US will not allow ISIS to take advantage of the situation in Syria. There should be no doubt that. All organizations in Syria should know that if they partner with or support ISIS in any way, we will hold them accountable,” General Kurilla asserted after the US’ December 8 assault on ISIS positions.