SDC calls on the US and international community to counter Turkish threats

The SDC said that a possible Turkish operation "will cause humanitarian disasters in the region."

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2022/05/26 21:30

SDC Public Relations Office meeting with SDC political party members (Photo: SDC Press)

Syria SDC SDF Recep Tayyip Erdogan Turkey-SDF tensions Turkey

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), called on the US-led coalition and the international community on Thursday to prevent a possible upcoming Turkish attack against northeast Syria.

Following a cabinet meeting in Ankara on Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that his country was preparing a new military operation to secure its southern border with Syria and complete a safe zone for Syrian refugees to return to their country.

The US State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters on Tuesday that the US was "deeply concerned about reports and discussions of potential increased military activity in northern Syria."

The SDC said that a possible Turkish operation "will cause humanitarian disasters in the region that suffers from political, security and economic difficulties and challenges."

"The Turkish intervention will also expose national and religious minorities to the risks of displacement and ethnic cleansing, primarily Yazidis, Christians and Kurds," it said.

The SDC called on the international community, the UN, and the US-led coalition against ISIS "to intervene quickly and to show strong and courageous positions to save the remaining hopes of the Syrians to come up with a political solution."

After Turkey carried out a major cross-border operation, codenamed Peace Spring, against Kurdish-led forces in northeastern Syria in October 2019, Russia and the US reached separate ceasefire agreements with Ankara, allowing Turkish troops to control the area it captured between Tal Abyad and Serekaniye.

The SDC also said that it opposes resettling Syrians in these areas "after the displacement of the original inhabitants of the north," claiming Turkey "aims at bringing about the demographic change against the people of Kurdish identity."

"This is contrary to the provisions of the United Nations Resolution 2254 on the return of refugees and it is considered as a crime against humanity, especially since the distance of 30 kilometers that the Turkish president is talking about is a multi-component area of Kurds, Syrians, Yazidis, Armenians and Arabs," it said. "It includes the area where ISIS prisons and their families are in (are detained)."

Earlier, on Mar. 18, 2018, Turkey and Turkish-backed rebels occupied the Kurdish enclave of Afrin. The Kurds became a minority in the area as a direct result of that invasion and occupation.

Kurds used to make up 96 percent of Afrin's population but now represent a mere 25 percent.