US should not allow Turkey to threaten Syrian Kurds: Graham

US should not allow Turkey to threaten Syrian Kurds, says Lindsey Graham — U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, October 27, 2023. Photo: Creative commons/Gage Skidmore/

WASHINGTON,— U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham raised serious concerns on Monday about the growing threat to ISIS prisoners in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), the Kurdish region in northeastern Syria, following attacks on Kurdish forces by Turkish-backed Islamist mercenaries.

Graham warned that these actions, which have already led to significant clashes, pose a major risk to the roughly 50,000 ISIS detainees held by Kurdish forces in the region.

While expressing support for airstrikes against ISIS targets, Graham emphasized that military efforts alone would not be sufficient to contain the situation. “We must ensure that the ISIS prisoners held in northeastern Syria, primarily by Kurdish forces, are not released,” Graham said in a statement on his X account.

He added that allowing Turkey or pro-Ankara radical Islamist groups to threaten the Kurdish forces, who played a crucial role in defeating ISIS under former President Donald Trump, would be disastrous for U.S. interests.

Turkey, according to Graham, has legitimate security concerns regarding the groups operating in northeastern Syria, but any military conflict between Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) could lead to an ISIS breakout.

“If Turkey attacks Kurdish forces, it could set in motion an ISIS jailbreak, and that would be a nightmare for America,” he warned. He pointed to the devastating consequences when ISIS was in control of large swaths of Syria, leading to numerous attacks in Europe and the U.S.

The senator also noted that the resurgence of ISIS would further destabilize the region, driving up gas prices and creating a broader security threat.

While he acknowledged Turkey’s desire for a buffer zone to protect its borders, Graham stressed that any military action against the Kurdish forces would jeopardize U.S. interests in the region.

Graham has previously advocated for sanctions against Turkey if it targets Kurdish forces and expressed his willingness to take similar steps in the future, working in a bipartisan manner.

The situation escalated over the weekend when Turkish-backed Syrian Islamist mercenaries

The situation escalated over the weekend when Turkish-backed Syrian Islamist mercenaries launched an assault on the Kurdish-held Manbij area in northern Syria, resulting in the deaths of at least 26 fighters in intense clashes. This attack followed the capture of the Kurdish-controlled Tel Rifaat enclave in northern Syria, as reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group.

The Kurdish forces, including the Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military wing, the YPG/YPJ, have been the most effective forces in fighting ISIS. The YPG, in particular, forms the backbone of the SDF, which has been the primary force fighting ISIS in Syria.

U.S. support for these Kurdish forces has been critical, as they played a key role in the defeat of ISIS in Syria. In March 2019, Kurdish forces expelled ISIS from its last territorial stronghold in the village of Baghouz. Since then, approximately 12,000 suspected ISIS members have been held in Kurdish prisons.

The Kurdish forces have paid a heavy price in the battle against ISIS, with over 11,000 fighters, both male and female, killed over five years of conflict. In 2018, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria was established in Ain Issa, further consolidating Kurdish control in the region and implementing democratic confederalism in local governance.