American senator’s warning to Türkiye about attacking Syrian Kurds

According to Isna, senior American politicians are worried about the nearness of Türkiye’s invasion of the northeastern region of Syria, which is controlled by the Kurds. They have indicated that they are ready to impose sanctions against Washington’s NATO ally. The “Syrian National Army”, which is an armed group supported by Turkey, has clashed with the “Syrian Democratic Forces” known as “QSD” in recent days.

US Republican Senator John Kennedy has warned that he is concerned about Turkey attacking Syria as the country struggles to rebuild itself after opposition forces ousted Bashar al-Assad after 13 years of war.

In his recent speech in the US Senate, Kennedy announced to Ankara: Leave the Kurds alone. Don’t do this.

Washington already has a military presence in Syria, and on Thursday the Pentagon announced that it had doubled its presence from about 900 to 2,000 troops with the participation of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for the so-called anti-ISIS mission. Meanwhile, Türkiye accuses Kurdish-led forces of being “terrorists”.

Continuing his speech, John Kennedy warned Turkey: If you attack Syria and you reach the Kurds, I want the US Congress to do something. And our sanctions will not help Türkiye’s economy. I don’t want to do this.

He also called the Syrian Kurds friends of Washington and condemned the Turkish president for providing financial support to the Syrian forces fighting the US-backed Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria.

The American senator said: President Erdogan! You hate Kurds but leave them alone. Kurds are a distinct people. They are friends of America. Our information says that Erdogan is trying to attack Syria. Do not do this. Kurds are peaceful people, leave them alone.

Other prominent senators from both parties, including Democrat Chris Van Hollen and Republican Lindsey Graham, threatened Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week if Ankara-backed forces agreed to a ceasefire with the Kurds in the northeast. If they do not reach Syria, they will impose sanctions against this country.

The senators accused Turkey of refusing to extend the ceasefire, including the proposal to establish a demilitarized zone along the border, especially the city of Ain al-Arab (Kobani).

While Turkey has security concerns that can be addressed, these developments undermine regional security and the United States cannot afford to sit idly by, Van Hollen and Graham said in a statement.

They added: Following the fall of Assad, Turkish-backed forces intensified their attacks against our Syrian Kurdish partners, once again threatening the vital mission of preventing the re-emergence of ISIS.

On Thursday, senior Democrats in the Senate and House Foreign Affairs Committees introduced a resolution that emphasizes the need to protect religious and ethnic minorities, including the Syrian Kurds, Yazidis and Chaldeans in Syria, and calls on the US State Department to increase humanitarian aid. to give

The Syrian Kurds, whose population is about 2 million people and make up 10% of the country’s population, created their own territory during the Syrian civil war, and now they fear that the situation will change in the new government, which is supported by Turkey. find worse Ankara views the SDF as an offshoot of the Turkish Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group that has fought the Turkish government for four decades.

The United States had armed the SDF to fight ISIS, but now the return of “Donald Trump” as the new president of the United States has raised the question of how long Washington’s support will continue. The United States has tried to dissuade Ankara from attacking the SDF, but Türkiye considers the presence of this group a serious threat. In recent days, the Syrian National Army tried to capture the city of Manbij, which was under the control of the SDF forces, and a fierce conflict broke out.

end of message