Despite calls from Washington and Moscow for restraint Turkey hit several targets in Syria on Tuesday, while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan again threatened that a ground operation against Kurds militants in the north of the country.

Turkey neutralized 254 PKK/YPG terrorists as part of its cross-border air operation in northern Iraq and Syria, Minister of National Defense says https://t.co/YZUXsBfkwh pic.twitter.com/B5nGCqj8Y0

— ANADOLU AGENCY (@anadoluagency) November 23, 2022

Erdogan has been threatening to order a large-scale ground operation in northern Syria since May, but the Nov. 13 bombing in central Istanbul, in which his government blamed the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and the YPG (People’s Protection Units), could speed things up.

Turkey is “more determined than ever” to defend its border with Syria from Kurdish militants, the Turkish president said today.

Since Sunday, “we have been crushing terrorists with our planes and drones,” the Turkish head of state said during a speech yesterday. “God willing, we will soon destroy them with our soldiers, our guns and our tanks.”

Early Sunday morning, the Turkish air force launched Operation Forked Sword, striking 89 PKK and YPG positions in northern Iraq and northern Syria, killing about forty Kurdish fighters, according to the non-governmental Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

🇹🇷 #Turkey announced on Sunday that it had carried out air strikes on bases of banned Kurdish militants in the north #Syria 🇸🇾 and #Iraq 🇮🇶, which, according to him, were used to organize “terrorist” attacks on Turkish soil. pic.twitter.com/veB7W5xWEn

— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) November 21, 2022

Last night, Turkish artillery continued shelling the iconic city of Kobani, a YPG stronghold that was captured in 2015 from Western-backed Islamic State (IS) jihadists, the same NGO said.

During the day, new Turkish UAV strikes were reported, in particular, on a joint base of Kurdish forces and the US-led international anti-Jihadist coalition, 25 km from the city of Hasaka, where, according to Kurdish forces and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Five civilians, including a child, were also killed in Azaz, Aleppo Governorate, three Syrian soldiers were killed and many others were injured in the shelling of an air base near Azaz.

Other explosions targeted an oil well near the border town of Al Qahtania, an AFP correspondent said.

“de-escalation”

“They want to create a terrorist state around us, we cannot allow this. Protecting our borders and our people is our responsibility and duty,” Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu said.

The Turkish government “will make sure that the perpetrators of terrorist attacks on the territory of the country will pay,” President Erdogan said yesterday on Monday.

His remarks after rockets were fired from Syria that killed two people, including a child, in the border town of Karkamish (southeast), prompted the US and Russian governments to respond.

Washington and Moscow have been embroiled in a war in Syria that has killed nearly half a million people since 2011 and displaced millions more.

“We are calling for a de-escalation in Syria to protect civilians and support our common goal of defeating the Islamic State,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

The US supported the YPG, the main Kurdish group in Syria, in its fight against IS jihadists, which was instrumental in regaining control of Kobane in 2015.

John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, acknowledged that Turkey remains subject to the “terror threat” and “has the right to defend itself and its citizens.”

However, he added, these “cross-border” operations “could provoke backlash from some of our SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces, of which the YPG is a key component) partner, limiting their ability to continue the fight. against him is the Islamic State.

“We want to be able to put pressure on ISIS. This network is worn out, but it still poses a threat. Accordingly, we would like our partners in the GDR to continue to exert pressure,” Mr. Kerby explained.

“Risk of destabilization”

Russia, for its part, has expressed “hope” that Turkey will exercise “restraint” and refrain from “any use of excessive force” in Syria.

“We understand Turkey’s concern. But at the same time, we call on all parties to refrain from any initiatives that could lead to serious destabilization,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

On Monday, Berlin and Paris urged Ankara to act “proportionately” and “show more restraint,” respectively.

For its part, Turkey yesterday demanded that its allies, above all the US, “stop all support” for the YPG.

The SDD says they are aiming for a “de-escalation”.

From 2016 to 2019, the Turkish military conducted three large-scale operations in northern Syria against Kurdish militias and other organizations.

Ankara has repeatedly stated its intention to create a 30-kilometer “security zone” along its southern border.

According to US analyst Anthony Skinner, the conditions are now in place for Turkey to launch a “brutal” operation against the PKK and YPG as the “presidential and parliamentary elections” in June 2023 approach. In his opinion, President Erdogan is determined to play “card security” in the run-up to the elections.

Source: APE-MPE, AFP-Reuters.