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‘They abandoned us’: Turkey starts bombing Kurdish positions in Syria after Trump ‘betrayal’

Turkish warplanes have begun bombing Kurdish positions in Syria, after Donald Trump pulled US support for its allies in a “stab in the back”.

Megan Palin and Frank Chung
5 min read
October 8, 2019 - 12:28PM
Syria bombed after US 'betrayal': Trump issues warning to Turkey

Turkish warplanes have reportedly begun bombing Kurdish positions in Syria, a day after the US announced it was pulling troops from the region in a move slammed as a “stab in the back”.

The bombings started late on Monday, with Turkish Air Force jets targeting the Semelka Border Crossing at the Iraq border in northeast Syria, local media reported.

There were also reports of artillery bombardment targeting the border area between Turkey, Syria and Iraq, with the Turkish Foreign Minister describing the actions as a “temporary measure”.

“They abandoned us in the middle of struggle against ISIS,” General Mazloum Ebdi, commander of the majority Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, told ABC News through an interpreter.

Gen. Ebdi told the US broadcaster the Turkish offensive could lead to ethnic cleansing. He said the decision to pull out “hurt the credibility” of the US, adding, “When you broke or hurt the credibility or the confidence, it’s not an easy thing to recover it.”

Earlier on Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his army was ready to strike against Kurdish militants “at any moment”, i24 News reported.

“There is a phrase that we always say — we can come any night without warning,” Mr Erdogan told reporters. “It is absolutely out of the question for us to further tolerate the threats from these terrorist groups.”

Turkey’s Defence Ministry tweeted just after midnight that its troops were ready to fight to protect its 82 million citizens. “If we die we are martyrs, if we don’t, we are war veterans,” the account wrote.

In a follow-up tweet, the Defence Ministry said the establishment of a safe zone was essential and that it would never tolerate a “terror corridor” on its border. “All preparations for the operation have been completed,” it added.

It came hours after Donald Trump threatened to “totally destroy and obliterate” Turkey’s economy if it doesn’t watch over captured Islamic State fighters detained in Syria following his decision to pull US forces out of the region.

In a tweet on Monday, the US President wrote: “If Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey”.

Mr Trump defended his sudden decision to pull back US troops from northeastern Syria, clearing the way for an expected Turkish military invasion against Kurdish forces who fought alongside American forces to defeat the Islamic State. Turkey views the Kurds as a threat to the country.

An airstrike by a U.S. led coalition warplane explodes on an ISIL position in Rojava in 2015. Picture: John Moore/Getty Images
An airstrike by a U.S. led coalition warplane explodes on an ISIL position in Rojava in 2015. Picture: John Moore/Getty Images

Mr Trump’s surprise move — described by the SDF as a “stab in the back” — goes against the advice of senior officials in the Pentagon and state department.

Democrats and Republicans warn that a Turkish attack could lead to a massacre of the Kurds, who are holding thousands of captured IS fighters and their families.

Speaking to reporters, a senior state department official said the number of personnel being pulled back from the border area was “very small”, about two dozen in total, and that they had been moved a “very short distance”.

Gen. Ebdi said the total number of American troops being moved was closer to 150, while a National Security Council official who spoke to Newsweek put the number at 230 service members, among them US Special Forces and reconnaissance units.

The troops were reportedly withdrawn from two observation posts in the towns of Tel Abyad and Ain Issa in northern Syria, along a 100km section of the border which appears to be the immediate focus of Turkey’s military plans.

The Defence Department made it clear in a statement Tuesday that the Pentagon does not endorse the Turkish operation in Northern Syria and the US will not be involved in the operation.

President Donald Trump talks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, October 4, 2019, in Washington. Picture: AP/Evan Vucci.
President Donald Trump talks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, October 4, 2019, in Washington. Picture: AP/Evan Vucci.

Senator Mitch McConnell, one of Mr Trump’s staunchest allies, urged the President to reverse the move.

“A precipitous withdrawal of US forces from Syria would only benefit Russia, Iran, and the Assad regime,” he said.

“I urge the President to exercise American leadership to keep together our multinational coalition to defeat ISIS and prevent significant conflict between our NATO ally Turkey and our local Syrian counterterrorism partners.

“Major new conflict between Turkey and our partners in Syria would seriously risk damaging Turkey’s ties to the United States and causing greater isolation for Turkey on the world stage.”

Senator Lindsey Graham, a top Republican ally of Mr Trump, is threatening legislation to impose economic sanctions on Turkey if it invades Syria. Mr Graham has Democratic allies and warned that any congressional vote would be overwhelming.

Mr Trump’s announcement immediately drew pushback from Republican politicians. Mr Graham said Monday that Mr Trump’s moves are a “disaster in the making” that would empower IS and Syria.

“I hope President Trump will reassess and take sound military advice,” he wrote on Twitter. “We have sent the most dangerous signal possible — America is an unreliable ally.”

He said he’s already spoken to Maryland Democrat Chris Van Hollen about drafting the sanctions legislation. Mr Graham said on Twitter that “sanctions against Turkey — if necessary — would be veto-proof.”

Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney also weighed in, saying Trump’s “decision to abandon our Kurd allies in the face of an assault by Turkey is a betrayal.”

Syria’s Kurds accuse the US of turning its back on its allies and risking gains made in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Mr Trump defended the move in a series of tweets, acknowledging that “The Kurds fought with us” but claiming they “were paid massive amounts of money and equipment to do so.”

Last year, the US raised tariffs on some Turkish products and imposed sanctions on top officials as relations between the two NATO countries worsened over a number of issues.

Mr Erdogan has said his aim was to combat Kurdish fighters in the border area and set up a “safe zone” for up to two million of the more than 3.6 million Syrian refugees currently living in Turkey.

In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said “the Department of Defence made clear to Turkey — as did the president — that we do not endorse a Turkish operation in Northern Syria”.

Earlier, Mr Trump said it was time “to get out of these ridiculous Endless Wars, many of them tribal” and that “Turkey, Europe, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Russia and the Kurds will now have to figure the situation out, and what they want to do with the captured ISIS fighters in their ‘neighbourhood’”.

“They all hate ISIS, have been enemies for years,” he wrote. “We are 7000 miles away and will crush ISIS again if they come anywhere near us!”


megan.palin@news.com.au | @Megan_Palin

— with wires

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/world/trumps-dire-warning-to-turkey-i-will-totally-destroy-and-obliterate-the-economy/news-story/cc0569954df40c02a01af06aa0a2f4af