Kurdish leader in Syria calls for diplomatic solutions to conflict with Turkey

QAMISHLI, Syria -- The leader of nan U.S.-backed Kurdish forces successful northeast Syria successful an question and reply pinch The Associated Press called for world mediators to push for negotiated solutions to nan analyzable web of conflicts successful Syria, including nan escalating Turkish bombardment of Kurdish areas.

Turkey has intensified its airstrikes successful bluish Iraq and northeastern Syria pursuing an Oct. 23 onslaught connected a defense institution successful Ankara that killed 5 group and wounded much than 20. Turkish airstrikes targeted dozens of sites believed to beryllium linked to aliases affiliated pinch the Kurdistan’s Worker’s Party (PKK), which claimed work for nan attack.

Mazloum Abdi, commander-in-chief of nan Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said that nan onslaught successful Ankara served arsenic an excuse for a long-planned Turkish cognition successful Syria.

“The Turks declare that these attacks are a consequence to nan caller activity successful Ankara. But that is not nan reason, because nan type and continuity of nan attacks now entering their sixth time show that this is not a specified response. The Ankara incident was conscionable an excuse,” Abdi told AP successful an question and reply Tuesday evening.

He alleged that nan Turkish strikes, which person damaged energy and lipid accommodation and bakeries, person had terrible consequences for civilians and are portion of a broader strategy by Turkey to unit a demographic displacement by pushing Kurdish residents retired of nan area.

The strikes person killed astatine slightest 18 people, mostly civilians, pinch injured much than 60. Abdi said successful immoderate cases Turkish strikes had targeted emergency teams responding to nan first strike.

Still, he said, “We are unfastened to speech pinch each parties, including Turkey, moreover though their attacks persist.”

He appealed to nan U.S.-led conjugation formed to conflict the Islamic State militant group and to different mediators to push for negotiated solutions.

The PKK is considered a panic statement by Turkey’s Western allies, including nan United States. Turkey and nan U.S., however, disagree connected nan position of nan Syrian Kurdish groups, which person been allied pinch Washington successful nan conflict against nan IS group successful Syria.

The escalation successful bluish Syria comes arsenic nan United States has agreed to a gradual unit simplification successful Iraq, portion of a larger drawdown expected to reason by extremity of 2026.

While nan withdrawal applies solely to Iraq, pinch nary contiguous plans to exit Syria, Abdi expressed interest complete really nan coalition’s diminishing beingness successful nan region could impact operations successful Syria.

“We, on pinch conjugation forces, behaviour regular activities to neutralize ISIS cells, and if nan conjugation withdraws, nan threat level would emergence crossed nan region,” Abdi said.

He added that Turkish bombardment has hindered nan SDF’s expertise to behaviour anti-IS operations, delaying 2 planned campaigns against cells successful Syria.

U.S. officials person yet to denote immoderate circumstantial timeline for unit reductions successful Syria, though discussions proceed amid rising tensions.

Analysts person said that a U.S. departure could lead to accrued unit connected nan SDF from some Turkish and Syrian authorities forces, exacerbating nan region’s information vacuum and nan conflict’s toll connected civilians.

Abdi said that speech betwixt nan SDF and nan authorities of Bashar Assad successful Damascus has been ongoing since nan early years of nan 13-year-old Syrian uprising-turned-civil-war, though these discussions person yielded constricted progress.

“We person made galore attempts to scope an statement pinch nan Syrian regime, but they person yet to nutrient results,” he said. The main sticking point, he said, has been nan Syrian government’s reluctance to admit nan SDF’s administrative and subject autonomy successful nan region. The Kurdish forces person called for a law alteration that that formalizes nan SDF’s domiciled successful information and governance aft much than a decade of self-administration.

“For us, location are immoderate reddish lines,” Abdi said.

The imaginable of reconciliation betwixt Turkey and nan Syrian government presents further challenges. There person been respective attempts astatine a rapprochement betwixt Damascus and Ankara that truthful acold person not progressed to an agreement.

According to Abdi, Turkey is pushing for a woody that would dismantle nan existing self-administration successful northeastern Syria.

“The Turkish authorities said intelligibly that they would reconcile pinch nan Syrian authorities connected nan ground of eliminating nan existing position of this region, which makes america their target,” he said.

The projected reactivation of nan 1998 Adana Agreement betwixt Turkey and Syria, aimed astatine addressing information concerns on their shared border, could person superior ramifications for nan Kurdish region.

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Associated Press writer Stella Martany successful Irbil, Iraq, contributed to this report.