Turkey's attack on the Kurds in northern Syria has weakened the fight against the "IS" militia - and it may well spread again. In the face of the Turkish offensive, the Kurdish armed forces and their allies have completely suspended combat operations against the Islamic State jihadist militia.
"We have frozen all our activities against 'IS'," said Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) head Maslum Abdi, Kurdish television broadcaster Ronahi. The SDF is an alliance of the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) with smaller Arab militias.
Despite international warnings, Turkey launched its offensive a week ago after the United States cleared the way for a Turkish invasion by withdrawing its forces from northern Syria.
"IS" fighters flee from Kurdish prisons
Internationally, it is feared that the Turkish intervention will not only weaken the fight against the "IS" militia, but also give thousands of imprisoned "IS" fighters the opportunity to escape. As a result, the "IS" in Syria could spread again. Already in recent days there have been reports of escaped prisoners, who are close to the jihadist militia.
The UN Security Council warned against the same threat on Wednesday: The most powerful UN body was "deeply worried" about the risk of escaped jihadists, said South African UN Ambassador Jerry Matjila. South Africa is before the panel in October. There is also concern about a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the northeast of the civil war country.
Despite international criticism from Washington, the Turkish army is fighting in Syria against the YPG, which is classified by Turkey as an offshoot of the banned Kurdish workers' party PKK and thus as a terrorist organization. US President Donald Trump agrees with this view: The PKK is probably a "in many ways greater terrorist threat than the IS," he said.
For the US and other Western states, however, the Kurdish militia in Syria had been an important ally in the fight against the "IS" militia for years.