Turkey demands US support for its operation in Syria
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Washington of not providing air support to Turkish forces in al-Bab and of supporting the Islamic State instead.
Despite Turkey’s high-profile collaboration with Russia and Iran aimed at ending the Syrian crisis, Turkey’s position in Syria remains confusing.
Realizing that its fight against the Islamic State (IS) in the group’s stronghold of al-Bab is proving to be more difficult and costly in terms of lives than initially expected, the Turkish military is accusing its Western allies of deserting it and the Turkey-backed Free Syria Army (FSA) as they combat terrorism in Syria.
In a progress report prepared for the press, the Turkish military said it was not getting any help from its allies, which it claimed were merely looking on as Turkish forces engaged in fierce fighting in al-Bab.
The military added that delays in launching the US-led operation to liberate Raqqa had also enabled IS fighters there to move to al-Bab to fight Turkish forces and the FSA.
