A possible Turkish military operation against PKK-linked YPG terrorists in northern Syria aims to create safe and stable conditions in the region for the voluntary return of displaced locals while also preventing a terror corridor and the establishment of a terrorist-run state near Turkey's borders.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said two weeks ago that Turkey would launch new military operations in Syria to extend the 30-kilometer (20-mile) deep "safe zones" along the border, aiming at the Tal Rifaat and Manbij regions and other areas further east.
"We are taking another step in establishing a 30-kilometer security zone along our southern border. We will clean up Tal Rifaat and Manbij," he said adding that the planned military operations will gradually continue in other parts of northern Syria.
Erdoğan has said that since the United States and Russia have failed to live up to their commitments to provide a safe zone along the border region, Turkey is ready to mount an operation to protect the nation and locals in northern Syria from the YPG terrorist threat.
As Turkish security forces are preparing for their fifth operation in northern Syria, Turkey aims to control a wider area and to minimize the influence area of the terrorist organization in Syria within the framework of the fight against the PKK/YPG.
The YPG/PKK mostly carries out terrorist attacks in Manbij, Ain al-Arab and the Tal Rifaat district of Aleppo, even using these regions as bases for its attacks. The YPG, which occupies roughly a third of Syria’s territory with the support of the United States, frequently targets Azaz, Marea, al-Bab, Jarablus, Afrin, Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain in the north of the country with heavy weapons.
The village of Harapsha, 12 kilometers west of al-Bab, was also occupied by the terrorist organization. All the civilians living in the village had to leave their homes. One of those people, Hussein Mohammed, is struggling to survive with his other neighbors in the Burj village in al-Bab.
"The PKK/YPG has darkened our lives," he said and continued as follows: "We have been away from our home for seven years. We do not know which stop this is. We had an olive oil plant in the village. When the PKK/YPG came to our village, everyone had to flee. Some 60-70 families fled to Turkey. Nearly 100 families settled in this region in al-Bab. We lost our homes and our jobs. We want to return to our home. The PKK/YPG left nothing for us there. They burned our house and shops."
"Every morning when we wake up, we pray that hopefully we will return to our village one day. After the PKK came, they banned us from entering the region. The West never thinks of us. The Turkish state is the only one that thinks about us. It came to our aid, healed our wounds. Turkey is only helping people."
While the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and the Syrian National Army (SNA) continue to prepare for the operation, locals fleeing from PKK/YPG-occupied areas continue to arrive in Afrin, which was cleared of terrorists with Operation Olive Branch in 2018. One of the tens of thousands of civilians who were forcibly taken to Shehba by the PKK/YPG terrorist organization during the Olive Branch Operation, Mehmet Horo Izzettin and his wife Resmiye Halil Izzettin returned to their homes in the Serincek village in the Shera district of Afrin four years later.
The couple, who are happy to return to their homes and homeland, said: "We returned to our village 20 days ago. We suffered great disgrace for four years. There are nearly 60,000 civilians in Shehba camp, mostly Afrin residents. Whoever says, 'We are happy in Shehba Camp,' is lying. They say it out of fear. Afrin is our Afrin. People of Afrin, go home. Everything PKK/YPG members tell you is a lie."
During Operation Olive Branch, PKK/YPG terrorist organization militants first forcibly took tens of thousands of civilians living in villages to Afrin city center and used them as human shields. Realizing that they could not hold Afrin city center, the terrorists took most of the civilians to the camps in the Shehba region with lies and threats. Thousands of civilians who have survived the terrorist organization have managed to return to their villages in Afrin.
Turkish-backed operations in previous years have ousted the YPG/PKK from the northwestern enclave of Afrin and a series of border towns further east. Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).
In October 2019, Russia committed to removing the terrorist group from Tal Rifaat and Manbij after reaching an agreement with Turkey during Operation Peace Spring. Moscow also promised that the terrorists would be pulled back 30 kilometers from the border on the M4 highway and in the area outside the Operation Peace Spring zone. Likewise, U.S. then-Vice President Mike Pence pledged to Turkey that the YPG/PKK terrorist group would withdraw from the Operation Peace Spring region. But neither Moscow nor Washington kept their promises.
Meanwhile, the U.S.-backed YPG forces said last week they would coordinate with Syrian regime troops to fend off any Turkish operation in the north and protect Syrian territory.
The new threats have highlighted the complex web of ties in northern Syria: While Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist organization, YPG forces are backed by Washington and have also coordinated with the Syrian regime and its ally Russia.
Turkey has backed opposition groups in clashes against Bashar Assad's forces and the YPG. It has used warplanes and increasingly drones to target territory held by the YPG, where terrorist forces have set up a governance system separate from Damascus. Syrian opposition forces have also said that they are ready to join the Turkish military in a potential new cross-border counterterrorism operation against the YPG in the north to liberate largely Arab-populated towns and villages from the terrorists.
The YPG has controlled much of northeastern Syria since the forces of Syrian regime leader Bashar Assad withdrew in 2012. The PKK is a designated terrorist organization in the U.S., Turkey and the European Union, and Washington’s support for its Syrian affiliate has been a major strain on bilateral relations with Ankara. The U.S. primarily partnered with the YPG in northeastern Syria to fight the Daesh terrorist group. On the other hand, Turkey strongly opposed the YPG’s presence in northern Syria. Ankara has long objected to the U.S.’ support for the YPG, a group that poses a threat to Turkey and that terrorizes local people, destroying their homes and forcing them to flee.
While acknowledging Turkey’s security concerns, Washington has voiced concerns about Ankara’s plans, saying a new operation could undermine regional stability and put American forces at risk. Russia also said last week it hoped Turkey "refrains from actions which could lead to a dangerous deterioration of the already difficult situation in Syria."