Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has hinted that Ankara is planning to deploy ground forces to attack US-backed YPG militia based across the border in Syria.
According to Aljazeera, Turkey blames what it considers to be the YPG’s parent organization, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), for the November 13 bombing in central Istanbul, which killed six people.
“We have been bearing down on terrorists for a few days with our planes, cannons, and guns,” Erdogan said in a speech. “We will root out all of them as soon as possible, together with our tanks, our soldiers,” Reuters reported.
Also, Defense Minister Akar called for an end to US support of the YPG, saying it is affiliated with the PKK terrorist group.
According to Aydin Selcen a former senior Turkish diplomat, Ankara, Erdogan, and other actors like defense minister Akar made clear Turkey is not happy with the US equipping and training the YPG, which is a direct extension of the PKK in Syria, and Ankara considers that as the main problem.
RHM/PR