Syrian Kurdish forces to 'be buried' if they don’t disarm: Erdogan

ANKARA,— Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday issued a strong ultimatum to Kurdish militants in Syrian Kurdistan, stating they must surrender their weapons or “be buried”.

The warning comes amid intensified clashes between Turkish-backed Syrian Islamist mercenary militants and Kurdish groups following the recent ousting of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

“The separatist terrorists will either lay down their weapons or be buried in Syrian soil along with them,” Erdogan told members of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) during a parliamentary session. “We will eradicate the terrorist organization that is attempting to create a wall of blood between us and our Kurdish brothers and sisters,” he added.

Turkey has long targeted the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), a key component of the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), considering it an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The PKK has waged a decades-long insurgency against Turkey, and Ankara views any Kurdish autonomy in northern Syria as a potential threat to its territorial integrity.

Erdogan reiterated Turkey’s demand for NATO allies, particularly the United States, to cease their support for the YPG. On Wednesday, Turkey’s Defense Ministry reported that Turkish forces had allegedly neutralized 21 Kurdish militants connected to the YPG and PKK during operations in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) and Iraqi Kurdistan (Bashur).

The top commander of SDF, the de facto army of the autonomous Kurdish administration in Syrian Kurdistan, General Mazloum Abdi, admitted the presence of PKK fighters in Syria, noting their assistance in combating the Islamic State group. However, Abdi denied any formal organizational links between the SDF and the PKK, and he suggested that PKK members would leave if Turkey agreed to a full ceasefire—a core demand from Ankara.

The SDF, with over 100,000 fighters, has been the most effective focre in the fight against ISIS, including liberating the group’s last stronghold in Baghouz in March 2019. Since then, around 12,000 suspected ISIS members have been detained in Kurdish-run prisons.

The SDF has also reported the loss of more than 21,000 men and women fighters in battles against ISIS and Turkish-backed Syrian Islamist mercenary groups.

Analysts say that Turkey, which still denies the constitutional existence of its own Kurds, fears the establishment of a Kurdish autonomous region in Syria could inspire separatist movements among its own Kurdish population, estimated in 2012 at over 23 million Kurds. Ankara has consistently opposed any Kurdish-led self-rule in the region.

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, led by the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), has governed the region with a system emphasizing secularism, gender equality, and environmental sustainability. Established in September 2018 in Ain Issa, the administration’s model of democratic confederalism continues to play a pivotal role in stabilizing northeastern Syria despite ongoing tensions.

Erdogan also announced plans to reopen Turkey’s consulate in Aleppo and predicted increased border activity next summer as Syrian refugees currently in Turkey begin returning home. Turkey hosts millions of Syrian refugees who fled the conflict.

Political analyst Henase Karin told iKurd, “Turkey is behaving as though it sees itself as a guardian of Syria,” following the takeover of Syria by the Turkey-backed HTS Islamist group.

(With files from Reuters | Agencies)