Turkey in ‘Final Stage’ of Preparations for N. Syria Operation

A member of a Turkish-backed Syrian faction is seen in the Aleppo province on Monday. (AFP)
A member of a Turkish-backed Syrian faction is seen in the Aleppo province on Monday. (AFP)
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Turkey in ‘Final Stage’ of Preparations for N. Syria Operation

A member of a Turkish-backed Syrian faction is seen in the Aleppo province on Monday. (AFP)
A member of a Turkish-backed Syrian faction is seen in the Aleppo province on Monday. (AFP)

Turkey announced that it has reached the final stage of its preparations to launch a military operation against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria.

Speaking at the 13th Ambassadors Conference in Ankara on Tuesday, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said his country resorts to cross-border operations to protect itself from “terrorist organizations.”

He stressed that Ankara has no interest in seizing the land of other countries.

“We are taking care of 9 million Syrians and are making their lives easier. Some of them are in Turkey and others in Syria. We are now working on making regions safe for their return,” he explained.

In May, Turkey announced that it would pursue a full-scale military campaign in northern Syria to complete the establishment of safe zones near its borders. The said zones would extend 30 kilometers deep in Syrian territory.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed on Monday his country's determination to connect safe zones in northern Syria to each other.

He reiterated his threat to clear northeastern Syria of Kurdish-led forces, a reference to the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as a terrorist group.

“We will continue our fight against terrorism. Our decision to establish a 30-kilometre-deep secure line along our southern border is permanent,” he told the same conference in Ankara.

Despite Erdogan’s threats, Turkey’s plans for a military campaign in Syria remains without international support.

The United States, which considers the Kurds a key ally in the war against ISIS in Syria, has warned against any Turkish military move, saying that it would pose a threat to the forces participating in the war against the terror group.

European countries also rejected any new Turkish incursion.

Meanwhile, Russia demanded that Ankara cooperate with Damascus instead of resorting to a military option.

Iran, another backer of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Damascus, declared that any Turkish operation would play out in the interests of terrorists only, and would destabilize the region.

Turkish opposition parties also reject the operation and have been employing the issue ahead of next year’s parliamentary and presidential elections.

They have been using the Syrian refugee file to pressure Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party and demanding their return to their home in coordination with Damascus.



Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
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Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)

Scores of US-backed Kurdish fighters left two neighborhoods in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo Friday as part of a deal with the central government in Damascus, which is expanding its authority in the country.

The fighters left the predominantly Kurdish northern neighborhoods of Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh, which had been under the control of Kurdish fighters in Aleppo over the past decade.

The deal is a boost to an agreement reached last month between Syria’s interim government and the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast. The deal could eventually lead to the merger of the main US-backed force in Syria into the Syrian army.

The withdrawal of fighters from the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) came a day after dozens of prisoners from both sides were freed in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that government forces were deployed along the road that SDF fighters will use to move between Aleppo and areas east of the Euphrates River, where the Kurdish-led force controls nearly a quarter of Syria.

Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh had been under SDF control since 2015 and remained so even when forces of ousted President Bashar al-Assad captured Aleppo in late 2016. The two neighborhoods remained under SDF control when forces loyal to current interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa captured the city in November, and days later captured the capital, Damascus, removing Assad from power.

After being marginalized for decades under the rule of the Assad family rule, the deal signed last month promises Syria’s Kurds “constitutional rights,” including using and teaching their language, which were banned for decades.

Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, who were displaced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war, will return to their homes. Thousands of Kurds living in Syria who have been deprived of nationality for decades under Assad will be given the right of citizenship, according to the agreement.

Kurds made up 10% of the country’s prewar population of 23 million. Kurdish leaders say they don’t want full autonomy with their own government and parliament. They want decentralization and room to run their day-to day-affairs.