USA proposes ‘safe zone’ in Afrin amid Turkish operation

Human Rights groups say attacks in Afrin have killed at least 28 civilians.

That seem unlikely now, as Operation Olive Branch is widely believed to have had Moscow’s blessing.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, before Trump’s imminent arrival, Tom Bossert said Turkey “ought to be mindful of the potential for escalation as they move into Syria and Afrin”.

The Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, said four of its fighters were killed as well as 10 fighters of the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) since Saturday when the Turkish-backed forces attempted to storm several border villages of Afrin.

While its fighters have won the support of the West for being an effective ground force against Isis, Turkey views the YPG as an extension of Turkey’s Kurdish PKK movement – which it regards as a terrorist organisation.

Manbij, to the east of the Afrin region, is part of a far larger area of northern Syria controlled by mainly Kurdish forces.

On Wednesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey’s concern was to facilitate the return of 3.5 million Syrians who live in Turkey to their country.

For local leaders, the self-ruled Rojava area is an experiment in democratic federalism that could serve as an example for the rest of Syria to follow as it emerges from civil war. Three main objectives drive the Trump administration’s approach toward the Syrian crisis: 1) Undermining Tehran’s ability to consolidate Iranian influence in Syria; 2) Keeping the Syrian regime weak, and thus as minimal a threat to Israel as possible; 3) Preventing Salafist-jihadist entities such as ISIS or al-Qaeda from usurping control of territory and using Syria as a launch pad for acts of global terrorism.

THE FACTS: The Islamic State group is not known to have any presence in Afrin. In 2016, Turkey launched a cross-border operation with Syrian opposition forces into Jarablus.

According to a report released by the United Nations, at least 5,000 civilians have so far fled fighting between Turkish and Kurdish forces in the border regions of Bulbul, Shankal, Admanli, Balal Kuy and Ali Bakki.

On the sidelines of the assembly of foreign ministers’ meeting, which was held in Paris on Tuesday, Cavusoglu met U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

But Ozpek said Russia’s tactic has so far failed to produce enough of a split between Turkey and the USA, adding that Moscow has also “completely lost the trust of Syrian Kurds”.

THE FACTS: The YPG is not known to have claimed or actively carried out any terror attacks inside Turkey. Considering Turkey still allows the United States to use Incirlik Air Base to support the YPG operations against the Islamic State, one might think that Ankara will not go as far as risking a military confrontation with its North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally. They think the operation will prevent the Kurds from reaching the Mediterranean and bring peace to the “oppressed people” of Afrin.

“We have been preparing for a large scale response depending on the needs of the civilian population”, said United Nations spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.

The YPG has been part of the Syrian Democratic Forces in eastern Syria, which has been fighting ISIS alongside the USA for the past four years.