Turkey continues to maintain its official silence over the decision made public March 7 to order Oregon-based Mercy Corps, one of the biggest humanitarian relief organizations delivering aid to Syria, to shutter its Turkish operations.

“Our hearts are broken by this turn of events, which comes after five years of cooperation with the government of Turkey and other partners,” Mercy Corps Director of Media Relations Christine Bragale said in a statement.

But few in the Western aid community are surprised; some see the move as part of a broader campaign to pressure Western governments and aid agencies, among other things, over their purported support for a Syrian Kurdish group that Turkey views as terrorists.

Viewed in this context, the targeting of Mercy Corps — which is one of the most effective aid outfits inside Syria, reaching nearly half a million people per month — is obvious. For one, it’s American. Turkey is furious with the United States over its continued alliance with the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in the ongoing campaign against the Islamic State. This is because of the YPG’s ties to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is fighting for autonomy inside Turkey. Thus, Turkey wants international aid agencies to stop coordinating with the YPG as well.