Syria warns Turkey there will be no compromise on territorial integrity

SMA NEWS – DAMASCUS
The Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed militia in parts of northern and eastern Syria, have warned Turkey against carrying out a military incursion into the north of the country.

“The aggressive threats by the Turkish regime are a flagrant violation of international law and the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria,” the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by Sana, the state news agency.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday his country needed to begin a military incursion against the Syrian-Kurdish fighters of the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, the lead organisation within the Syrian Democratic Forces, a mostly Kurdish militia group that worked closely with US forces during the war on ISIS.

American soldiers deploy in Hassakeh, Syria. After breaking into the prison late Thursday, ISIS militants were joined by others rioting inside the facility that houses more than 3,000 inmates, including children. AP

American soldiers deploy in Hassakeh, Syria. After breaking into the prison late Thursday, ISIS militants were joined by others rioting inside the facility that houses more than 3,000 inmates, including children. AP

Turkey views both groups as affiliates of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the EU.

For years, Turkey has launched military operations and air raids on PKK strongholds in the mountains of northern Iraq. In 2015, a two-and-a-half year long ceasefire between PKK and Turkey broke down, which reignited a four-decade long conflict.

Mr Erdogan said the military operation will help establish a 30-kilometre area he has planned in northern Syria, which he calls a “safe zone”.

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“We will address the shortcomings of the secure strip we established at our southern borders through new operations,” he said at a weekend gathering of MPs belonging to his Justice and Development Party.

“A depth of 30 kilometres from our borders is considered to be our security zone, and we don’t want attacks launched against us from that area.”

Mr Erdogan was reiterating a pledge he made at the Turkish parliament on Wednesday.

Turkey hosts more than four million Syrian refugees displaced by more than 11 years of civil war triggered after a 2011 uprising against the regime of President Bashar Al Assad.