ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The local forces which liberated around one-third of Syria from the clutch of ISIS warn they will not allow a unilateral Turkish operation in northeastern Syria because they fear the result will be an Afrin-like occupation with hundreds of thousands displaced.
“… we will not accept any Turkish incursion into the areas we have liberated, no matter the words used to describe it,” wrote Manbij Military Council Spokesperson Shervan Derwish in a New York Times opinion piece published on Thursday.
Manbij, a city of 700,000, is located west of the Euphrates. Turkey has repeatedly threatened to “cleanse its border of terrorists” even if it means boots on Syrian soil.
Kurdish, Arab, Turkmen, Circassian and other local forces fought a firece two-month battle to liberate Manbij from the grips of ISIS from May-August 2016.
“Thanks to the Kurdish fighters who liberated Manbij in 2016, we have been able to enjoy freedoms unimaginable under either the Islamic State or the Syrian government,” wrote Derwish.
Backed by the US-led international coalition, they then formed a local civil and military council in Manbij — a model repeated across liberated cities.
“Our civilian administration has given people the courage to rebuild their lives and, for the first time, participate in building democracy,” he added.
In early 2018, Turkey conducted Operation Olive Branch with the help of proxy fighters called the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The result was the displacement of an estimated 300,000 people. Crops were burned, schools and administrative buildings taken over by the Turkish-backed forces, and the establishment of institutions that obediently follow orders from Ankara.
“If the United States allows Turkey to attack Manbij, that will be our fate, too,” argued Derwish.
He pleaded with global powers to not “play Turkey’s games” — in particular US President Donald Trump who, against the advice of senior diplomats and defense officials, announced that he will withdraw all US forces from Syria.
Derwish, who survived an assassination attempt blamed on Turkish proxy militias last year, reiterated that all YPG forces have left Manbij.
“We believe that Mr. Erdogan fears not the presence or the absence of any given military force but the peaceful and democratic coexistence of Arabs, Kurds, Christians and others in northeastern Syria,” he added.
Both Washington and Moscow seem willing to turn a blind eye to a Turkish operation east of the Euphrates. Leaders in northern Syria have increased talks with Damascus that is backed by Russia and Iran to possibly intervene.
Locals had similar hopes before and during the Afrin offensive; however, Ankara proceeded and now seems set on doing the same further east in northern Syria.
Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) Co-Chair Ilham Ehmad was in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. The SDC is the political arm of the coalition-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Turkish media reported on Thursday that its military had bombed YPG targets around Tel Rifaat. The area in Syria's northwestern governorate of Aleppo houses thousands of people displaced from Afrin.
.jpg&w=3840&q=75)