Turkey insists on exclusion of Kurdish forces from Raqqa battle
Washington prefers to work with the Kurds to oust the Islamic State from Raqqa, but it still wants to keep Turkey involved.
A short time ago, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim clearly declared Turkey’s condition to join the Raqqa operation in Syria: “If the YPG [People's Protection Units] will be there, we won’t be.”
When the Kurds under the umbrella of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) assumed de facto leadership of Operation Euphrates Wrath, Turkey was once again sidelined. But the United States wants Turkey to remain engaged with the Raqqa operation, and assigned Ankara the role of finding the power that will govern Raqqa after its liberation.
Last summer, Turkey had proposed a joint operation with the United States that excluded the SDF led by the YPG, and it has now set its red lines for Operation Euphrates Wrath, which is the same as it was with Manbij: “The YPG will not enter Raqqa.”
Despite Turkey’s strong rhetoric, the YPG continues to be an integral part, actually the backbone, of the international coalition. However, according to YPG Commander Sipan Hemo, the option of the Kurds controlling Raqqa was never on the table in discussions with the YPG.
