In northeastern Syria, Kurdish forces announced on Friday that they would end their cooperation with the United States in the fight against the jihadist organization, ensuring that they had to deal with Turkish attacks as a priority. Operations would then have resumed normally on the ground, according to several sources.
With our correspondent in Erbil, Theo Renaudon
To fight against the Islamic State organization and to fight against Turkey, it is impossible to do both. This, in short, is the warning given to Washington by the Kurdish forces since the beginning of the Turkish aggression. The Syrian Democratic Forces are calling on the United States to prevent NATO member Turkey from continuing its offensive.
Because it is not only a question of fighting against the IS group and its still very real pockets in Syria, it is also necessary for the Kurds to contain the jihadists where they are in the majority, that is to say in the camps that the Kurds have been guarding for several years now. In these open-air prisons, members of the terrorist organization jump at the first opportunity to escape. This is what allegedly happened in the al-Hol camp a few days ago. A Turkish bombardment would have allowed some detainees to escape according to the Kurdish forces.
For the moment, the United States is content with statements deemed too lukewarm by the Syrian Democratic Forces. Washington, for example, calls for “de-escalation” in northeastern Syria, without really condemning Turkey, which claims to be preparing a ground operation on Syrian Kurdistan soil.
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