Turkey plans arms shipments to Syria, targets Kurdish militants
3 Min Read
Turkey plans arms shipments to Syria and pushes for broader rights to strike PKK-aligned Kurdish militants along its border amid tensions with the SDF.
-
Turkish army tanks stationed in the east of Idlib, Syria, Saturday, February 15, 2020. (AP)
Turkey is preparing to send military equipment to Syria in the coming weeks as part of a broader effort to target Kurdish militants near its southern border, Turkish officials familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
The planned arms shipments include armored vehicles, drones, artillery, missiles, and air-defense systems, to be deployed primarily in northern Syria. Officials, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said the move avoids southern regions of Syria where tensions with "Israel" remain high.
The military supplies are intended to support Syria's self-appointed interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led militants in the campaign to oust Bashar al-Assad late last year. Al-Sharaa is currently focused on rebuilding Syria’s army, much of which was destroyed during "Israel's" post-conflict strikes.
Turkey is backing al-Sharaa’s leadership in part to counter Kurdish demands for autonomy along the border and to limit the influence of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which includes factions affiliated with the PKK, a group that fought a decades-long insurgency in Turkey and is designated as a terrorist organization by both the US and EU.
Read more: Syria not seeking IMF, World Bank loans: Interim finance minister
Expanding the 1998 security agreement
Ankara and Damascus have reportedly reopened talks to expand their 1998 Adana Agreement, which allows Turkey to take limited military action against PKK militants operating inside Syria.
Currently, Turkey can operate within 5 kilometers of its border, but Ankara now seeks to expand that range to 30 kilometers (19 miles). Turkish officials argue this is necessary to prevent armed groups from establishing a permanent presence in the region.
Despite a March agreement between the SDF and al-Sharaa to integrate the group into the miliant Syrian National Army, implementation has been slow. A senior SDF commander told the Associated Press this week that some progress has been made, but tensions between Damascus and the Kurdish-led group remain.
Turkey hopes an agreement with al-Sharaa will restrict the SDF’s access to Syria’s key oil and gas fields, which Ankara believes are financing PKK activity.
Read more: 1,200+ killed in targeted assassinations in Syria: SOHR
Slow progress on Kurdish disarmament
Although the PKK declared in May that it would disband and disarm, the peace process remains fragile. Uncertainties persist over the disarmament timeline and whether Turkey will offer any political concessions in return.
Ankara is counting on al-Sharaa to resist Kurdish autonomy efforts and ensure that any deal does not bolster separatist ambitions along the border.
