New Turkish strikes took place on Tuesday November 22 at the end of the day and on Wednesday November 23 in the morning against Kurdish positions in northern Syria. Since this weekend, Turkey has launched Operation Sword Claw, which is its response to the November 13 attack in Istanbul, with the Kurdish opposition as the culprit.
>> Istanbul attack: Turkey’s response threatens Syrian Kurdistan
In addition to the strikes, there are the words of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Every day, the president reiterates his determination to go all the way. On Wednesday, November 23, he was in the National Assembly, in front of his party’s group, insisting that “Turkey has the means to find and punish the terrorists who attacked it”. He wants to avenge the dead of the Istanbul attack and cites his objectives: the cities of Tall Rifat, Manbij and Kobané, in Syrian Kurdistan.
The latter is a symbolic city for the Kurdish guerrillas, also a symbol of the fight against the Islamic State. According to Turkey, the order to carry out the attack in Istanbul would have come from Kobané. Already targeted by air raids, it could therefore be one of the main objectives of a ground offensive that Turkey will lead “at the time that seems appropriate” adds Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ignoring calls for restraint from the international community. This is the portion that Turkey lacks to make the connection between the territories it controls in Syria, along its border. Taking Kobani would allow it to complete this 30 kilometer wide corridor – a security corridor, Turkey says, which would also allow it to resettle tens of thousands of Syrian refugees increasingly unwelcome in Turkey.
Other targeted targets
Still along the Turkish border, but further east, towards Iraq, the surroundings of Kameshli have been targeted, according to several Kurdish sources, who report two deaths in their ranks. Kameshli, where Russia has several bases. Oil and gas sites would have been affected. Air raids and artillery fire since this weekend have caused around forty victims according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Turkey says it has neutralized 254 terrorists. The Kurds fear a larger assault and complain about the weak response from Washington and Moscow after these latest Turkish raids.
>> Turkish strikes in Syria: “It’s not just the Kurds who are targeted, it’s all the Syrian people!”, Says a villager
The United States and Russia call on Turkey to exercise restraint, while saying they understand the need for it to protect itself against terrorism. We have known more virulent. Will the intensification of Turkish operations change the situation? The United States fears that a ground offensive will divert its Kurdish allies from the fight against the Islamic State, or even allow the escape of jihadists detained in camps guarded by Kurdish forces. There are around 10,000 captive IS fighters and more than 50,000 family members in northern Syria.
