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Turkey announced today that it had killed 13 Kurdish fighters in northern Syria and two in Iraq, signaling an escalation in Ankara’s campaign against these militants—some of whom are U.S. allies—since Donald Trump took office in the White House last week.
The Turkish Defense Ministry stated that the Kurdish fighters it had "neutralized" in Syria were members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Syria's Kurdish YPG militia.
Turkey considers the PKK and YPG to be the same organization. The United States, however, regards them as separate entities, designating the PKK as a terrorist organization while enlisting the YPG as its main ally in Syria in the fight against the Islamic State.
Turkey has repeatedly urged Washington to withdraw its support for the YPG and expressed hope that Trump would reconsider the policy inherited from President Joe Biden’s administration.
Today’s report of significant clashes is the second in recent days: Turkey also announced on Sunday that it had killed 13 Kurdish fighters. Turkish forces and their allies in Syria have frequently clashed with Kurdish fighters there since the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last month.
Turkey has declared that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a U.S.-backed umbrella group that includes the Kurdish YPG, must disarm or face military action.
Under the Biden administration, the United States maintained 2,000 troops in Syria fighting alongside the SDF and YPG.
