ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Turkish foreign minister warned on Tuesday that Ankara plans to carry out a fresh military operation against northeast Syria (Rojava) if the alleged cadres of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) do not leave the country, adding that they have given a deadline to the Kurdish authorities through Western countries.
“We have given an ultimatum to the YPG through Americans and the West,” Hakan Fidan told CNN Turk, referring to the People’s Protection Units (YPG), backbone of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
“The PKK cadres, who carry the international characteristics and came from Turkey, Iraq and Iran, have to leave [Syria]. They have to leave and they know this. To be honest, we do not see any preparation and intention in this regard. We are waiting,” he added.
He warned that if Turkey’s demands are not met “there will be a military operation.”
Turkey and the Syrian militia groups it supports, who call themselves the Syrian National Army (SNA), have recently intensified their attacks on the SDF-held areas near Manbij, including Tishreen Dam and Qere Qozaq bridge.
The SNA has controlled Manbij and Til Rifaat towns from the SDF since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8.
The issue of the alleged presence of PKK cadres in Rojava has recently resurfaced. The new government in Damascus and Ankara have called for their departure.
The PKK has repeatedly said that it has no presence in Rojava.
“We openly announce that we as the PKK are not present in Rojava. We do not have any organic ties with any organizations, ” Murat Karayilan, a top PKK commander said in mid-December.
He added that their fighters entered Rojava to defend Kurds from the Islamic State (ISIS) attacks and returned to their places.
Turkey has carried out three major military campaigns against the SDF since 2016 on the grounds the YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK and poses a threat to Ankara’s national security.
Turkey’s last offensive against the SDF was in 2019 when it took control of Sare Kani (Ras al-Ain) and Gire Spi (Tal Abyad). The campaign was halted after Americans and Russians mediated a ceasefire.
US President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Turkey suspended the operation after he, then president, intervened.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "started and I said please don’t do that and he didn’t do it,” Trump said, adding that he and Erdogan are friends and have mutual respect for one another.
Fidan warned on Tuesday that his country plans to carry out a new military if the YPG fails to meet its conditions.
“If you do not want a military operation in the country from us or the new Syrian administration, the conditions are clear. We are openly announcing the conditions: the foreign fighters should leave Syria and the PKK leadership cadres -Syrians who hold leadership positions - should leave the country. They know who [we mean] and we have their names,” said the top Turkish diplomat.
He noted that the rest of the YPG fighters should lay down their weapons.
“This is a bloodless and problemless process. In return, the non-PKK , dear Syrian Kurds, will live their normal lives without being harmed. The new Syrian administration has guaranteed us this,” he noted.
Mazloum Abdi, SDF chief, has also said several times that the PKK no longer exists in Rojava.
In an unprecedented move in mid-December, the Rojava administration decided to only allow the new Syrian flag, SDF flag and the emblems and symbols of the administration, effectively banning PKK slogans and banners.
Fidan said Kurds would enjoy equal rights in the new Syria.
Thousands of Kurds living in Syria had been deprived of citizenship by the ousted regime. Fidan said that they have urged the Syrian authorities to address this issue.
HTS has not clashed with the SDF and has allowed the US-backed force to remain in control of both Kurdish-majority neighborhoods in Aleppo.
Sharaa has said that the country's new security apparatus will include "Kurdish forces in its ranks,” calling Kurds an “integral part” of Syrian society but stressed that his administration will not allow the country to become a “launchpad” for the PKK.
SDF’s Abdi has declared that they are willing to merge the SDF into the new Syrian army if both sides agree on a “suitable formula through negotiations.”
Updated at 12:03 am on January 8, 2024.
