Turkish army responded with artillery fire to Syrian regime fire on Turkish military guard posts in Turkey’s southern Hatay and Kilis. Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic made the following statement: “Today our border security outpost in the Hatay area at the Syrian border was attacked. Retaliation shots were fired in return.” (Aljazeera-Turk)
Comment:
Following these developments, there was news that Turkey will start ground operations in Syria. Whereas the reason for these developments lies in the PKK’s Syrian arms, the PYD-YPG’s, seize of the Menagh military airbase close to Azaz which is under the control of the FSA. Additionally Turkey responded as a reprisal to the attacks conducted by PYD-YPG from the seized areas to the Turkish side on 13-14 February. Turkey hit two PYD bases in Maranaz and Menagh villages of Azaz with storm howitzers.
Prime Minister Davutoglu highlighted these three points in his message of determination on the intervention.
- YPG will not try to break the corridor again.
- YPG will move away from Azaz at once.
- YPG will leave the Menagh military airport.
Throughout the Syrian issue, it was recurrently written that Turkey will intervene in Syria. However Turkey did not intervene except through the US-led coalition, the warplanes in Incirlik, and sometimes through responding to attacks from the border region. It supported its ally America’s politics. Russia’s intervention in Syria and the recent meetings between the USA and YPG have increased anticipations and concerns regarding Syria. President Erdogan said on his return from his Latin America journey, “We don’t want to fall into the same mistake in Syria as in Iraq.” Meaning, they would take actively place on the side of international forces in Syria, and for this they would do what is necessary. Also President Erdogan’s “… am I your partner? Or the PYD?” statements stood on the agenda for a long time. Through these comments he gave messages to the pubic like ‘we are against the PYD, just as we are against the PKK… We are doing everything we can on this issue… We warn the USA and the international powers even if they are our allies.’
The USA who placed and supported the PKK on Iraq’s soils after the Gulf war, now supports and places the PYD on Syrian soils in order to fight Muslims. And Russia cooperates with the USA on this issue and supports PYD. It supports it both through opening a representative office in Moscow and through supporting it with weapons and ammunition. Also America regularly states that it is acting in unison with the PYD and does not regard it as a terror organisation.
It is an important aim for the USA, Russia and the international forces to break the resistance of the Syrian people and that the sincere groups who struggle for the Khilafah to give up their struggle. It was not possible to subjugate the people and groups over the last five years, Elhamdulillah.
The division of Syria into three parts as with Iraq, and the existence of a strengthening terror organisation on Turkey’s southern border that is to trigger the PKK plague inside the country even further is an unacceptable situation. Turkey’s intervention therefore is naturally a step towards ensuring its own security.
This intervention is neither a military operation to Syria nor a showdown to America and the international powers. And it is unlikely that Turkey will launch a military operation in Syria in the near future, because with regards to Syria, Turkey is allied with the USA from the beginning and has no different politics than the politics of the USA. Naturally the USA and other Kuffar are friends to each other. Alliance with them will not bring anything else than harm on political, military, economic and social level.
Musa Bayoğlu