The United States military has deployed more reinforcements for its bases in Deir ez-Zor, a region in northern Syria currently occupied by the terrorist group PKK’s Syrian affiliate, the YPG, which Washington calls its “partner forces.”
Guarded by Bradley fighting vehicles and four-wheel-drive trucks mounted with machine guns, a convoy of nearly 50 trucks, tankers and armored trucks rolled into the rural Hassakah province from the al-Waleed border crossing between Syria and Iraq, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported Tuesday citing local sources.
The convoy delivered fuel, weapons and ammunition to the U.S. forces stationed at Koniko natural gas field and al-Omer oil field inside the regions controlled by the PKK/YPG, AA said.
Washington consistently sends supplies to military outposts near oil fields in Hassakeh, Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor areas.
Since the start of the year, the U.S. Army sent reinforcements to bases and stations in Tel Beydar and Ash Shaddadi in Hassakah on Jan. 6, 8, 22 and 25, again on June 19 and 20 and July 11.
Just last month, days after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called on Türkiye’s NATO allies to take a concrete stance against all terrorist groups, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a military spending bill that ensures continued funding for the YPG and authorized the continuation of joint operations from the end of 2023 through the entirety of 2024.
The bill encompasses all Syrian groups, including the PKK/YPG. It would also include funding for non-PKK/YPG groups, including local Syrian military forces at a strategic U.S. military installation along the Syria-Jordan-Iraq border.
Since 2016, Ankara has been leading counteroffensives against the terrorist groups and striving to establish a 30-kilometer-deep (19-mile-deep) security line, for which Russia and the U.S. committed to providing support in October 2019. The same month, Türkiye launched its Operation Peace Spring against the PKK/YPG and Daesh, another terrorist group, in northern Syria, with Washington promising that the YPG would withdraw from the region.
The U.S. military then evacuated all its bases in the area, prioritizing stationing near oil fields. It, however, maintained its support, namely military training and truckloads of equipment, to the terrorist group under the guise of a joint fight against Daesh. It also conducts regular patrols with the PKK/YPG.
The PKK has been waging a bloody terror campaign against Türkiye since the 1980s, and it’s considered a terrorist group by Ankara, the U.S. and the European Union. Its terrorists have established safe havens in northern Iraq and Syria and frequently launch attacks on Turkish soil and local areas. They have been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
Despite Ankara’s documentation of the fact that the YPG and PKK are, in actuality, the same terrorist group, consistent U.S. support for the terrorists remains a source of significant strain between the allies.
Some 900 U.S. troops have been stationed in northern Syria since 2015 when the civil war between the Assad regime and its opposition was at its peak. Starting in 2012 when Assad’s forces withdrew, the PKK/YPG controlled much of the northeastern region.
Earlier this year, a top U.S. general, Chairperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, while visiting the area, argued the mission was “worth the risk” since it ensured the security of the U.S. and its allies. The visit at the time sparked tensions between Washington and Ankara, which summoned the U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Jeff Flake for an explanation.
The continued U.S. support remains irksome for its NATO ally Türkiye. With U.S. help worth millions of dollars, the YPG has grown stronger in northeastern Syria, despite Washington’s promises to Türkiye that it would “consult and work closely” with Ankara against Daesh and the PKK.
Washington also often criticizes Ankara for its airstrikes on the PKK/YPG, claiming Türkiye is “threatening” its operations against remaining Daesh insurgents. Ankara has consistently slammed its censure, stating that its target is only terrorists and assuring Turkish operations don’t cause any harm to civilians or the Syrian opposition movement, which it has backed since the start of the civil war.
Since last year, Türkiye has signaled a ground operation against the PKK in northern Syria and Iraq, especially following a 2022 terrorist attack in Istanbul that left six dead and 81 injured. The U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed “strong opposition” to plans of a ground offensive but Turkish officials dismissed any warnings, stressing that Türkiye was “committed to protecting its borders and will not seek anyone’s permission.”
Although in recent months, such an offensive seems shelved as Ankara has been striving for normalization with Damascus.
