 and a key ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on Tuesday threw his support behind Syria’s ongoing military offensive against Kurdish fighters and called for an expanded campaign to “root out” what he described as terrorist activity east of the Euphrates River.){kind=link}
Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and a key ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on Tuesday threw his support behind Syria’s ongoing military offensive against Kurdish fighters and called for an expanded campaign to “root out” what he described as terrorist activity east of the Euphrates River.
Kurdish-majority towns in northern Syria, such as Kobani and Qamishli, lie east of the river.
Speaking at his party’s weekly parliamentary group meeting in Ankara, Bahçeli said areas east of the Euphrates should also be cleared, endorsing a push deeper into northeastern Syria as clashes continue between forces aligned with Syria’s transitional government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Bahçeli said the SDF had been driven from their positions west of the Euphrates by the Syrian army and claimed that Syrian government forces had freed Aleppo along with Raqqa and Deir al-Zor from “occupation” and “oppression.”
He accused the SDF of resisting integration into Syrian government, dragging their feet and sabotaging negotiations with outside influence, praising Syrian forces for expelling them through a sweeping operation backed by force of arms.
Bahçeli also accused the SDF of failing to comply with a February 27 call by jailed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan urging militants to lay down their arms, saying it was clear that the Syrian Kurdish leadership had taken an opposing stance.
“Damascus’s security is Ankara’s security,” Bahçeli said, adding that Syria’s unity and safety were inseparable from Turkey’s own interests.
Bahçeli’s MHP is a far-right party allied with President Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). His remarks came as Ankara has backed Syria’s transitional government against Kurdish-led forces that have controlled large parts of northeastern Syria for more than a decade.
The Euphrates is Syria’s main river and a key geographic dividing line in the country’s north. Kobani, known in Arabic as Ayn al-Arab, sits near Turkey’s border and became internationally known in 2014 when Kurdish fighters, backed by US-led coalition airstrikes, repelled an assault by the Islamic State group. Qamishli is a major city in northeastern Syria and a hub for the Kurdish-led administration.
The SDF was formed during Syria’s civil war and became the main US partner in the ground fight against the Islamic State group. It later maintained control over a wide area that includes oil and gas infrastructure and detention sites holding Islamic State prisoners and their families.
Turkey considers the SDF an extension of the PKK, which has fought a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state. The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
Bahçeli tried to separate Kurdish identity from Kurdish-led armed groups in Syria, saying Kurds were not the same as the SDF and People’s Protection Units (YPG) and arguing that the organizations could not claim to represent Kurds or speak on their behalf.
Bahçeli’s remarks followed nearly two weeks of reported clashes and rapid territorial shifts in northern and eastern Syria. Syria’s transitional government began its latest offensive on January 6 in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, later expanding the operation toward areas east of the Euphrates, according to Turkish media reports cited by multiple outlets.
A ceasefire and integration framework announced on January 18 was expected by some observers to cool tensions, but fighting has continued in several areas, with competing accusations over who is attacking and who is violating the terms.
Bahçeli praised what he described as Arab tribal participation against the SDF, pointing in particular to Raqqa and Deir al-Zor, and said tribes had joined forces with Damascus against the Kurdish-led group.
His call for expanded action east of the Euphrates is likely to add pressure on Turkey’s own Kurdish political landscape as growing street protests over Syria tests a fragile peace track with the PKK.
The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), the main pro-Kurdish party in Turkey’s parliament, has staged demonstrations and moved political activity to the border region in recent days to protest the offensive and warn of civilian harm.