The U.S. State Department Tuesday denied it has agreed to a “safe zone” in northern Syria, after broadcaster CNN Turk quoted a senior Turkish diplomat as saying the countries have settled on terms for such a zone in their campaign against ISIS.
“There’s no agreement on some kind of zone,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said when asked about the report.
CNN Turk quoted Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu as saying the countries agreed to create a 98km-long, 45km-wide area to be patrolled by members of the opposition Free Syrian Army.
Toner said he had not seen the official’s remarks and could not address them. “I’m not denying his claims,” the State Department spokesman said.
“We’ve been pretty clear from the podium and elsewhere saying there’s no zone, no safe haven, we’re not talking about that here.
“What we’re talking about is a sustained effort to drive [ISIS] out of the region,” Toner said during a news briefing.
Turkey and the United States have been working on plans to provide air cover for Syrian rebels and sweep ISIS from land along the Turkish border.
Under the strategy, moderate Syrian rebels, trained by the U.S. Army, will fight the Islamic militant group on the ground and help coordinate airstrikes by the U.S. coalition, launched from Turkish air bases.
U.S. and Turkish forces would hit ISIS or Kurdish militants if they entered the safe zone, CNN Turk quoted Turkey’s Foreign Ministry undersecretary as saying.
Diplomats familiar with the plans say cutting off one of ISIS’ lifelines could be a game-changer in this corner of Syria’s complex war.
The core of the U.S.-trained rebels, who number fewer than 60, will be highly equipped and be able to call in close air support when needed, they say.
U.S. officials have previously said discussions were ongoing about the size and scope of a safe zone along the border, but that the aim would be to clear it of ISIS fighters and allow moderate rebels to operate freely. They have ruled out a formal no-fly zone.
Also Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed that Turkey would press on with its relentless campaign against Kurdish militants “until not one terrorist” was left, as Ankara launched new airstrikes against the rebels.
Turkey is currently pressing a two-pronged “anti-terror” offensive against ISIS in Syria and PKK militants in northern Iraq and the southeast following a wave of attacks. But so far, the airstrikes have overwhelmingly concentrated on the separatist Kurdish rebels, who have responded by tearing up a 2013 cease-fire and waging a bloody campaign against the security forces.
“We will continue our fight until weapons are laid down ... and not one single terrorist remains within our borders,” Erdogan said in a televised speech in Ankara.
He said the weapons of the PKK and other militant groups must be buried “under concrete” to show they were no longer a threat to the Turkish state.
“I’m not talking about laying down arms, I’m talking about burying them. I’d like to emphasize this,” Erdogan said.
Turkish warplanes overnight staged a fresh wave of attacks on Kurdish militant targets following a day of bloody attacks that killed six members of the security forces.
The overnight strikes hit 17 PKK targets in the southeastern province of Hakkari, destroying them all, the army said.
Four Turkish police officers were killed Monday in a roadside bombing in the southeastern province of Sirnak while a Turkish soldier was killed in a rocket attack on a military helicopter.
Meanwhile, in Istanbul a senior police officer in charge of the city’s bomb disposal department was killed in clashes that followed a pre-dawn suicide bombing.
The PKK Tuesday claimed that attack, confirming that three of its militants had been killed including a suicide bomber and dismissing claims a smaller leftist group had been behind the strike.
In new violence overnight, a Turkish soldier was killed in a gun attack on a military post in Sirnak, also blamed on the PKK.
The European Union and United States, which like Turkey list the PKK as a terror group, have backed Ankara’s right to strike against the militants but also indicated concern about the scale of the campaign.
Erdogan said that the over two-week air campaign against the PKK had already inflicted “serious losses” on the group.
But even such an intense campaign may not be enough to finish the PKK.
“Turkey’s air campaign damages the PKK, but is not sufficient to destroy it,” said Pinar Elman, Turkey analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs.
“The decades-old conflict has shown that military means are not sufficient to fight against the terrorist group, and political reforms are necessary,” she told AFP.
Erdogan also declared the peace process to end the PKK insurgency is currently “on ice.”
“There’s no agreement on some kind of zone,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said when asked about the report.
CNN Turk quoted Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu as saying the countries agreed to create a 98km-long, 45km-wide area to be patrolled by members of the opposition Free Syrian Army.
Toner said he had not seen the official’s remarks and could not address them. “I’m not denying his claims,” the State Department spokesman said.
“We’ve been pretty clear from the podium and elsewhere saying there’s no zone, no safe haven, we’re not talking about that here.
“What we’re talking about is a sustained effort to drive [ISIS] out of the region,” Toner said during a news briefing.
Turkey and the United States have been working on plans to provide air cover for Syrian rebels and sweep ISIS from land along the Turkish border.
Under the strategy, moderate Syrian rebels, trained by the U.S. Army, will fight the Islamic militant group on the ground and help coordinate airstrikes by the U.S. coalition, launched from Turkish air bases.
U.S. and Turkish forces would hit ISIS or Kurdish militants if they entered the safe zone, CNN Turk quoted Turkey’s Foreign Ministry undersecretary as saying.
Diplomats familiar with the plans say cutting off one of ISIS’ lifelines could be a game-changer in this corner of Syria’s complex war.
The core of the U.S.-trained rebels, who number fewer than 60, will be highly equipped and be able to call in close air support when needed, they say.
U.S. officials have previously said discussions were ongoing about the size and scope of a safe zone along the border, but that the aim would be to clear it of ISIS fighters and allow moderate rebels to operate freely. They have ruled out a formal no-fly zone.
Also Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed that Turkey would press on with its relentless campaign against Kurdish militants “until not one terrorist” was left, as Ankara launched new airstrikes against the rebels.
Turkey is currently pressing a two-pronged “anti-terror” offensive against ISIS in Syria and PKK militants in northern Iraq and the southeast following a wave of attacks. But so far, the airstrikes have overwhelmingly concentrated on the separatist Kurdish rebels, who have responded by tearing up a 2013 cease-fire and waging a bloody campaign against the security forces.
“We will continue our fight until weapons are laid down ... and not one single terrorist remains within our borders,” Erdogan said in a televised speech in Ankara.
He said the weapons of the PKK and other militant groups must be buried “under concrete” to show they were no longer a threat to the Turkish state.
“I’m not talking about laying down arms, I’m talking about burying them. I’d like to emphasize this,” Erdogan said.
Turkish warplanes overnight staged a fresh wave of attacks on Kurdish militant targets following a day of bloody attacks that killed six members of the security forces.
The overnight strikes hit 17 PKK targets in the southeastern province of Hakkari, destroying them all, the army said.
Four Turkish police officers were killed Monday in a roadside bombing in the southeastern province of Sirnak while a Turkish soldier was killed in a rocket attack on a military helicopter.
Meanwhile, in Istanbul a senior police officer in charge of the city’s bomb disposal department was killed in clashes that followed a pre-dawn suicide bombing.
The PKK Tuesday claimed that attack, confirming that three of its militants had been killed including a suicide bomber and dismissing claims a smaller leftist group had been behind the strike.
In new violence overnight, a Turkish soldier was killed in a gun attack on a military post in Sirnak, also blamed on the PKK.
The European Union and United States, which like Turkey list the PKK as a terror group, have backed Ankara’s right to strike against the militants but also indicated concern about the scale of the campaign.
Erdogan said that the over two-week air campaign against the PKK had already inflicted “serious losses” on the group.
But even such an intense campaign may not be enough to finish the PKK.
“Turkey’s air campaign damages the PKK, but is not sufficient to destroy it,” said Pinar Elman, Turkey analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs.
“The decades-old conflict has shown that military means are not sufficient to fight against the terrorist group, and political reforms are necessary,” she told AFP.
Erdogan also declared the peace process to end the PKK insurgency is currently “on ice.”
The Daily Star
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