Pentagon warns Turkey against renewed invasion of Syria
A US defense official called for a political process to end Turkey's perpetual battles with Kurdish militants.
The Pentagon warned on Wednesday about potential unintended consequences of Turkey's stated plan to launch a new attack against Kurdish-led forces in Syria.
A renewed Turkish military assault against the People’s Protection Units (YPG) risks springing thousands of Islamic State (IS) detainees from makeshift prisons guarded by the US-backed, Kurdish-led force across Syria’s northeast, Dana Stroul, the Pentagon’s top Middle East policy official, said Wednesday.
“There are currently more than 10,000 ISIS fighters currently held in makeshift detention facilities across northeast Syria,” Stroul said during an event hosted by the Middle East Institute in Washington on Wednesday.
“These facilities are overpopulated, insecure and guarded by our partner force, the SDF, [which is] under significant pressure from multiple armed adversaries, a deteriorating economy inflamed by historic drought and a potential Turkish operation in northern Syria,” Stroul explained.
