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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States will continue to cooperate with the Kurdish led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in its fight against Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria, a Pentagon spokesperson told Rudaw on Wednesday.
“Our position with respect to our cooperation with the SDF has not changed, nor has our mission in Syria which is solely focused on the ISIS threat. That threat remains, those missions continue, and our cooperation continues,” John Kirby said.
Kirby’s comments come as Turkey steps up its attacks in areas of northeast Syria covered by 2019 ceasefires brokered by Washington and Moscow. Several civilians and Kurdish fighters have been killed.
Kurdish leadership have called on Russia to step up in its role as monitor of the ceasefire and end Turkey’s attacks.
In recent months, the People’s Protection Units (YPG) have expressed disappointment that the global coalition against the ISIS have remained silent on increasing Turkish attacks.
Ankara believes that Syrian Kurdish forces of the YPG and SDF are offshoots of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which it has named a terrorist organization. It considers the Syrian Kurdish groups a threat to Turkey’s national security.
Erdogan and other Turkish officials hinted at a new military operation against the YPG-dominated SDF in northern Syria last month without specifying the area, but Ankara’s officials have anonymously told Reuters that their target is Tal Rifaat.
Tal Rifaat is located in northwest Syria. The city is surrounded by farmland, located halfway between Aleppo and the Turkish border. The SDF denies any military presence there but local sources have told Rudaw English that the group is there, disguised as regime soldiers.
The SDF’s political wing, the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) has held meetings with top American officials in Washington last month. A security source told Rudaw that this is the main reason behind Turkey’s fresh threats, as it has openly opposed any political or military achievement for Syrian Kurds.
Additional reporting by Roj Eli Zalla
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