Tabnak – As the United States has started a new kind of influence game in northern Syria, various parts involved in the Syrian conflict are increasingly expressing concern over Washington’s final goals. Damascus on the one hand and Ankara on the other, have declared readiness to counter the move.
Damascus says it is determined to end US military presence after Washington declared plans to build a 30,000-member "border force" in the Arab country that Russia says could lead to Syria’s partition.
Syria’s Foreign Ministry on Monday slammed the plan as a "blatant assault" on its sovereignty. State television cited an official source in the ministry as saying that the Syrian army is resolved to end any form of US presence in the country.
In his turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said Washington’s decision to form a zone held by US-backed militants could lead to the division of the Arab country.
"The announcement that this zone will be controlled by the US-backed groups - by the force up to 30,000 people - this is a very serious issue, which causes concerns that a course was set for the partition of Syria," Lavrov said at an annual news conference.
The US move also angered Ankara with Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag saying on Monday that Washington is "playing with fire". Turkey is already angry over strong US support for Kurdish forces in Syria. Ankara views SDF and its affiliates as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been fighting Turkey since 1984.
Meanwhile, a top Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters on Sunday that the main reason behind summoning Philip Kosnett, the American charge d‘affaires in Ankara, last week was in fact Washington’s training of the new “Border Security Force” (BSF) within Syria.
The US launched its military campaign in Syria in 2014 under the pretext of fighting ISIS terrorists. Syria and Russia as well as other regional countries have cast doubt on the United States' true intentions, saying US troops have mostly tried to hamper government operations against the terrorists and harmed the country's infrastructure.
Syria calls the "coalition" led by the US “an illegal occupation force” which has entered the country without its permission or a UN mandate. It also views Washington's SDF allies as “traitors”.
Meanwhile, in a related development, Turkey's president vowed "to purge terrorism" across the border in Syria, as Turkish forces pounded US-backed fighters with artillery fire on Sunday.
A military operation in northern Syria against the city of Afrin - controlled by the Syrian Kurdish armed group YPG - will be launched "in the days ahead", President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying by the official Anadolu news agency.
He said the attack on Afrin would be an extension of the 2016 Euphrates Shield Operation, which targeted ISIS fighters, as well as the YPG. The eight-month combat effort officially ended in March 2017.
