Turkish military, Syrian opposition to cross into Syria 'shortly'

Turkish military forces, together with the opposition Free Syrian Army, will cross the Syrian border "shortly", Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s communications director said early on Wednesday, as a surprise withdrawal of US troops made way for the Turkish operation, TRT World reports.

Turkey has been poised to advance into northeast Syria in a fight against terrorists on its border region since the US troops began vacating the area in a policy shift by US President Donald Trump, criticised by Washington.

On Tuesday, Turkish officials said the military had struck the Syrian-Iraqi border to prevent Kurdish forces using the route to reinforce the region, though details of the strikes were hazy.

In an opinion piece for The Washington Post, Turkish Presidency Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said the US has borne the brunt of the anti-Daesh campaign for a long while.

"Turkey, which has NATO's second-largest army, is willing and able to take the lead now and drive it home, bringing millions of refugees back to Syria in the process," Altun wrote.

"At this critical juncture, the international community must rally behind Turkey's rebuilding and stabilisation efforts," he added.

"The Turkish military, together with the Free Syrian Army, will cross the Turkish-Syrian border shortly," he said.

The YPG threat

For Ankara, this will not be the first operation of its kind.

Since 2016, Turkey’s Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch operations in northwestern Syria have liberated the region from YPG and Daesh terrorists, making it possible for nearly 400,000 Syrians who fled the violence to resettle in western Syria.

The US allied with the PYD/YPG-dominated SDF militia in a battle against Daesh terror group in Syria.

The YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terrorist organisation. In its 30-year terror campaign against the Turkish state more than 40,000 people, including children, have been killed.

Turkey, the US and the EU recognise the PKK as a terrorist organisation.

"I think there is a lot of pressure on Turkey. They have been fighting with the PKK for many years," Trump said on Tuesday.

Altun said the partnership of the US with YPG has been dubbed as "tactical" by American officials, adding that Trump's decision to pull forces back from northern Syria "reflects that view."

"Like the United States, Turkey does not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy. But when monsters attempt to knock down our doors and harm our citizens, we have to respond," Altun wrote.

He asserted that Turkey just aims to eliminate a long-stating threat by the YPG terror group and liberate Syrians "from the yoke of armed thugs."

Syria opposition coalition throws support behind Turkey

The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces said it is ready to fight against terrorism with Turkey.

The coalition late on Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment to fighting terrorism in all its forms and cooperating with its partners to defeat terrorist organisations.

The umbrella organisation, also known as the Syrian National Coalition, “is ready to combat terror in cooperation and joint action with the brothers in Turkey so as to safeguard the national interests of the Syrian people with all their Arab, Kurd, Turkmen, Assyrian and other components," it said in a statement.

"The coalition hopes these efforts will succeed in finding a solution that will ensure the defeat of the PYD [YPG] militia and the trans-border terror groups that turned this region into a hotbed of chaos, violence and terrorism," it added.

Taking over the Daesh fight

Altun in his opinion piece said Erdogan and Trump agreed to transfer the leadership of the anti-Daesh campaign to Ankara.

He also highlighted Turkey's role in the wake of Daesh attacks, saying the country was the first to fight Daesh terrorists in war-torn Syria.

"Our country also helped the Free Syrian Army keep thousands of Islamic State (Daesh) militants behind bars for years," he said. "It is in our interest to preserve what the United States has accomplished, and to ensure that history does not repeat itself."

He also warned YPG terrorists to defect without delay if they are interested in fighting Daesh. In the event of fighting the Turkish military, Altun said Turkey will "have no choice but to stop them from disrupting" its anti-Daesh fight.

"The world has a vested interest in the success of the fight against Islamic State under Turkey's leadership," Altun said, adding that US troops in Syria deserve to return home and the locals, forced into exile by the YPG, get to return to their lands.

Relocation of displaced Syrians

"Finally, the plan helps Turkey shelter innocent people from a known terrorist organisation," Altun wrote.

Citing Erdogan's speech on the safe zone at the UN General Assembly last month, Altun said up to 2 million displaced Syrians will volunteer to live in a 20-mile secure area spanning from the Euphrates River to the Syria-Iraq border.

"If the safe zone's southern border reaches the Deir Ezzor-Raqqa line, that number could reach 3 million, including refugees currently in Europe," he added.

He said Turkey will build on its past experiences in northern Syria to keep the safe zone secure and stable and believes Syrians are equipped to govern themselves through elected local councils.

He warned that Daesh might re-emerge if local representation is not backed in northern Syria.

"In predominantly Kurdish areas, such as Afrin, Turkey oversaw the creation of local governing bodies with a Kurdish majority. The same will go for predominantly Kurdish parts of northeastern Syria."