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Syrian Democratic Forces warn Erdogan of all-out war
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which controls large areas of northeastern Syria, warned of a "total war" if Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan carried out his threat of a military operation east of the Euphrates in Syria.
"Turkey's military operation against Syrian areas and our forces will open up possibilities for an all-out war that will bring the region back to 2012," said Kino Gabriel, spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
"Such operations will threaten the security and stability of the region completely, and will directly affect the efforts of the Syrian Democratic Forces to counter the Islamic State terrorist organization," Gabriel told Sky News Arabia.
The Turkish president declared Saturday that Ankara will carry out an air and ground military operation east of the Euphrates in Syria, the region in which Ankara and Washington did not establish "a safe area" yet.
"We have made our arrangements. We have prepared our plans for the operation and given the necessary instructions," Erdogan said, adding that Turkey would carry out air and ground operations and that such operations could begin "today or tomorrow."
The United States and Turkey have agreed to jointly establish a safe area on the Syrian border. Still, Ankara says it is unhappy with the operation and occasionally threatens military operations there.
A spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces expressed readiness to negotiate in order to reach political solutions to the problems that threaten the region, stressing at the same time "full readiness to face any aggression."
Gabriel said Turkish threats to northern and eastern Syria were "not new."
He said: "We have been receiving such threats over the past three years, as a result of Turkish allegations of a threat to its security in Syrian areas controlled by the SDF."
Gabriel expressed rejection of the Turkish threats while declaring the commitment of the SDF to the points agreed upon regarding the security mechanism for the border areas, which is fully implemented by the Kurdish forces, in the words of Gabriel.
The spokesman for the SDF did not rule out that any Turkish military operation east of the Euphrates would affect the lives of millions of Syrians living in various villages and cities in northern and eastern Syria.
Gabriel warned that any Turkish operation east of the Euphrates would enable ISIS members to regroup, especially in newly liberated areas where security control remains incomplete.
