The PKK-affiliated Democratic Union Party's (PYD) armed wing, the People's Protection Units (YPG), is reportedly continuing advances in northern Aleppo thanks to an offensive the Assad regime backed by Russian airstrikes, leading to a new exodus from northern Syria that is expected to overwhelm Turkey's capacity to handle refugees. The YPG advance in northern Aleppo will lead to the expansion of the Afrin canton. The Syrian affiliate of the PKK also targets Azaz, near the Turkish province of Kilis, to complete the establishment of their canton. The PYD reportedly benefits from an offensive by regime forces loyal to Bashar Assad, who are backed by relentless Russian airstrikes.
The next target for the PYD will be the Mennah military air base, which has been held since 2013 by the al-Qaida-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, or the Nusra Front. The air base is six kilometers south of Azaz and is a crucial point for the group.
The Syrian Local Coordination Committee released a statement which claimed the U.S. sent 20 military advisors to assist the PKK-affiliated group in its offensive against Manbij, near Aleppo. The U.S. also sent two cargo loads of ammunition to the group, according to the statement.
Over the weekend, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan voiced his dissatisfaction with the U.S., a crucial ally to Turkey in the region, for its collaboration with a PKK-affiliated group. Erdoğan urged the U.S. to decide whether it is allied with Turkey or the PYD.
While offensives by the Assad regime, together with heavy Russian airstrikes, have paved the way for the PYD to advance towards the Turkish border, tens of thousands of Syrians are again fleeing to Turkey. Even though Turkish authorities have repeatedly warned that another overwhelming exodus could take place in the region, airstrikes and offensives were not halted.
Tens of thousands of people, including Turkmens, have fled their homes located around Azaz, and around 70,000 people are now living in 10 different refugee camps.
Turkish authorities fear that this figure might rise to 300,000 – exceeding Turkey's capacity for taking in refugees, deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said on Sunday.
Speaking to Daily Sabah on the issue, the Yeni Şafak daily's Ankara bureau chief Abdülkadir Selvi asserted that a two-step strategy is being implemented by Russia, using both Assad and the PYD. "They want to cut Turkey's connection to Aleppo, and force the country to take in hundreds of thousands of new refugees," he said.
Voicing his unease over the lack of reponse to the offensives by Russia and the Assad regime, Selvi said that the U.S. and Europe are just "watching" what is happening in the region.When asked whether the U.S. will choose Turkey as an ally, over the PYD, Selvi said, "Ankara should force the U.S. to do so. The U.S. has been playing both sides from the beginning. It has been providing the PYD with arms, ammunition and counseling." Asserting that Ankara cannot accept the status quo, Selvi urged the U.S. to make a decision as soon as possible.
Hilal Kaplan, a columnist for Sabah Daily and a television host, also spoke to Daily Sabah, saying that the PYD is working on behalf of the Assad regime. Offering two reasons for Turkey's decision to set up a refugee camp outside of its border, Kaplan said, "First, Ankara does not want Aleppo to fall or for all residents to flee the city. Second, Turkey is rehearsing for the implementation of a safe zone there. It is trying to show the West that it works."
Asserting that the U.S. – Russia even more so – want to use the PYD as a ground force in the region, Kaplan warned that Turkish-U.S. relations are already walking a thin line. "It is as if the U.S. has declared Turkey null and void as an ally. I don't know whether President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ultimatum will work, but in either case, Ankara has shown where it stands," she said. Agreeing with Selvi, Kaplan said, "From now on, Turkey will take matters into its own hands."
