right on the Turkish border.
The US has been backing the Kurdish SDF for years, to the chagrin of Turkey and its allies in the self-proclaimed Syrian National Army (SNA). In recent weeks, intense fighting has erupted between the SDF and Turkey and their partners in SNA.
Turkish officials say their goal is to wipe out the YPG, a Kurdish faction which is the largest constituent of the SDF. Turkey backed the recent regime change in Syria, and their new Islamist leadership in Damascus is talking about how the Kurds can’t be allowed to retain the autonomy they carved out during the Syrian Civil War.
Turkey’s reaction?
With Assad ousted, Turkey seems to believe that they can convince the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to tamp down Kurdish ambitions for autonomy. Foreign Minister Hasan Fidan said Turkey is prepared to do “whatever it takes,” up to and including military action, to see this goal through if the HTS proves unable to address “territorial integrity,” which is to say ensuring the Kurds don’t retain any measure of the autonomy they enjoy right now.
The anti-YPG intentions mean Turkey would end up with substantial control over the new Syrian government. That’s not sitting well with other regional powers, like Israel, and some are suggesting backing the Kurds more overtly as a way to prevent Turkey from gaining too much clout inside Syria.