Turkey Threatens New Offensive in Syria if US-Backed Kurdish Group Refuses to Disband
Ankara is determined to take all necessary measures to eliminate the YPG in Syria, according to the foreign minister.
If the YPG does not disarm and disband, Turkey will initiate a new military operation against the Kurdish YPG militant group in Syria, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated.
“We’ve communicated it through the Americans and the media.
“Those identified as international terrorist fighters—coming from Turkey, Iran, and Iraq—must leave [Syria] immediately.”
The YPG is linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a group that has been in conflict with the Turkish state for many years.
Alongside Brussels and Washington, Ankara considers the PKK a terrorist organization.
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Over the past few years, Turkey, as a NATO member, has conducted numerous operations into northern Syria, aiming to neutralize the PKK and its Syrian affiliate.
Ankara accuses these groups of trying to establish an autonomous region in the area, which could pose a threat to Turkish interests.
Despite its association with the PKK, the YPG is a key part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), supported and armed by the United States.
Formed in 2015, the SDF assists U.S. forces in northeastern Syria, currently numbering around 2,000 troops, in combatting ISIS.
A group ideologically linked to al-Qaeda, ISIS controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq between 2014 and 2019.
The U.S. often refers to the YPG, to Turkey’s dismay, as a reliable ally in the fight against ISIS.
This alliance has led to frequent tensions with Turkey, which has repeatedly urged the U.S. to end its support for the YPG.
On Jan. 6, Fidan stated that Ankara would no longer tolerate Western backing of the YPG under the guise of fighting ISIS.
During a joint press conference with his Jordanian counterpart, he declared that the eradication of the YPG was imminent.
“We are equipped not only to detect but also to thwart any regional conspiracy,” Fidan informed journalists.
People and fighters affiliated with Syria’s new administration gathered at Abbasid Square in Damascus for a military parade on Dec. 27, 2024. Omar Haj Kadour/AFP via Getty Images
Appeal to Damascus
For several years now, Turkey and allied militias have held control over parts of northern Syria.
This includes Syria’s Idlib province in the northwest, where last month’s rebel offensive—led by U.S.-designated terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)—took place.
The rebel action led to the expulsion of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Moscow on Dec. 8 as his regime and military crumbled.
As rebels advanced toward Damascus in early December, the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army conducted a separate operation in northern Syria, seizing significant territory from the YPG.
Shortly thereafter, Washington announced a ceasefire agreement brokered between Turkey and the YPG-led SDF.
“We do not want to see any party exploit the current unstable situation,” a State Department spokesperson stated at the time.
However, Ankara later denied reaching any ceasefire deal.
In return, the SDF accused Turkey of obstructing efforts to achieve a ceasefire.
“The Turkish occupation and its mercenaries did not adhere to this decision and continued their attacks,” the U.S.-backed group mentioned in a statement.
Since Assad’s departure a month ago, Ankara has intensified its calls for the YPG to disarm and disband, calling for non-Syrian members to be repatriated to their home countries.
When asked what Turkey would do if Damascus failed to resolve the issue, Fidan responded, “Whatever is necessary.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
