Turkey president says will enter Syria if US fails to remove YPG fighters

Turkish forces will enter the Syrian town of Manbij if the United States does not remove YPG Kurdish fighters, and it will also target Kurdish-controlled areas further east, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

Erdoğan said this week that Turkey would launch a new operation within days against the U.S.-backed YPG which controls swathes of Syria’s northern border region, in what will be Turkey’s third military campaign in Syria in two years.

Ankara considers the YPG as the Syrian branch of the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU, and the U.S.

Washington says it backs the YPG in the fight against ISIL in Syria.

Ankara and Washington have long been at odds in Syria, where the United States has backed the YPG in the fight against Islamic State.

Turkey has complained over the slow implementation of a deal with Washington to pull YPG Kurdish fighters out of Manbij, which lies in mainly Arab territory west of the Euphrates, back to the eastern bank of the river.

“Manbij is a place where Arabs live, but they have surrendered the area to the terror organization,” Erdogan told members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in a speech in Istanbul. “Now we are saying that you should cleanse, remove them, or else we will enter Manbij. I am speaking very clearly.”

Erdogan said Turkey was also determined to bring “peace and security” to areas east of the Euphrates, where the YPG controls an area stretching more than 400 km (250 miles) along the border towards Iraq.

A spokesman for the Syrian rebels said on Thursday that up to 15,000 fighters are prepared to support Turkey’s latest operation.

The United States, which has set up observation posts on the Syrian side of the border, has warned Turkey against a new incursion and said the newly constructed positions would help deter any security threat against Turkey coming from Syria.

“We are not only providing security for our country when taking steps in Syria but we are also protecting the honor of people,” Erdoğan said.

The Turkish president also said that his country’s anti-terror operations in northern Iraq will continue.

“We will no longer tolerate a single day of delay,” he added.

Erdoğan said that Turkey conducted airstrikes in Sinjar and Mount Karajak regions of northern Iraq late December 13, adding such operations will continue.