Far from sharing Western euphoria over Kurds’ capture of a key border town from Islamic State (IS) jihadists, Turkey is alarmed by the advance of Kurdish forces, fearing that they could create a powerful autonomous region on its doorstep.
Backed by US-led airstrikes, fighters with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia this week seized the key Syrian border town of Tal Abyad from IS jihadists.
There was jubilation over the victory among Kurds, who hailed the end of the notoriously repressive practices in Tal Abyad by IS, which has captured swaths of Iraq and Syria.
But while Turkey insists it is no friend of IS, Ankara’s reactions to the Kurdish advance have ranged from the circumspect to the outright hostile.
Syrians gather after leaving the city center of the Syrian town of Tal Abyad, as seen from Turkey at the Turkish crossing of Akcakale in the southeast Sanliurfa province, on June 13, 2015. (AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC)
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he was troubled by the advance of Kurdish forces, fearing they could in the future create a structure to threaten Turkey.
“This is not a good sign,” he says. “Everyone needs to take into account our sensitivities on this issue.”
Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc accuses Kurdish forces of implementing an “ethnic cleansing” campaign against non-Kurdish Arab and Turkmen populations.
He says they were trying to link together the three Kurdish-led cantons of northern Syria — Jazira, Kobane and Afrin — into a single autonomous Kurdish region known to Syrian Kurds as Rojava.
— AFP
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