National News |

U.S. advocates halt to Turkish-Kurdish clashes

By Suzan Fraser and Zeina Karam, The Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey — The U.S. on Monday urged Turkish troops and Kurdish forces in northern Syria to halt their fighting, saying it hinders efforts to defeat the Islamic State. But Turkey’s president vowed to press ahead with the military operation until the Islamic State and Kurdish Syrian fighters no longer pose a security threat to Ankara.

It was the first U.S. criticism of its NATO ally since it launched a U.S.-backed incursion into northern Syria to help Syrian rebels seize the town of Jarablus from the Islamic State. They have been clashing with Kurdish Syrian forces around the town to try to halt their advance.

The battle now pits Turkey against the Kurdish-led force known as the Syria Democratic Forces — a U.S.-backed proxy that is the most effective ground force battling Islamic State militants in Syria’s 5-year-old civil war. It puts Washington in the difficult spot of having to choose between two allies, and it is likely to divert resources from the fight against the Islamic State.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Washington has asked Turkey to “stay focused” on the fight against the Islamic State and not to engage with the SDF.

“We’ve called on both sides not to fight one another, not to fight each other,” Carter said.

He told reporters at the Pentagon that Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke to his Turkish counterpart Sunday. Carter added that he intends to discuss the issue next week in Europe with Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik.

Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said the clashes were of “deep concern,” adding that they were not coordinated with U.S. forces, “and we do not support them.”

Turkish officials responded by insisting that Kurdish forces “immediately” withdraw east of the Euphrates River or face more attacks by Turkish forces.

“No one has the right to tell Turkey to ‘fight this terror organization but don’t fight that terror organization,’ ” said Omer Celik, a Turkish Cabinet minister.

Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper quoted Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus as responding to the Pentagon by saying the U.S. should keep to its promise and use its influence to press its Kurdish allies to withdraw to the east.

The sharp rhetoric — and the continued fighting — reflects the complicated and conflicting interests at stake in northern Syria after Turkish tanks rolled across the border Aug. 24 with the dual aim of containing the Islamic State and Kurdish forces.

The U.S. has supported Turkey in its demand that the SDF withdraw east of the Euphrates, which cuts into Jarablus. The goal is to clear the region south of Jarablus of Kurdish forces.