During a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Hulusi Akar, the French Minister for the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, expressed his “
deep concern
” on Tuesday November 29 about “
the security situation in Syria and Iraq
”.
This exchange comes following new strikes by Ankara in Syria ten days earlier, on positions of Kurdish fighters in the northeast of the country.
Turkey, which calls Kurdish groups "
terrorists
", carried out air raids on November 20 on Kurdish-controlled areas north of Aleppo.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly declared his intention to order, "
when the time comes
", a ground offensive.
The French Minister for the Armed Forces warned of the risk that these strikes "
lead to an escalation of tensions
" and threaten "
the stability of the region
".
Threat to the fight against Daesh
While drones notably hit a joint base of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF, dominated by Kurdish fighters) and the international coalition led by the United States, Sébastien Lecornu also expressed concern about threats to "
the progress made since several years by the International Coalition in the fight against Daesh
".
A Turkish intervention risks "
endangering the safety of Coalition personnel operating in northeast Syria
", warned the French minister, and "
encouraging the escape of Islamic State fighters, thus compromising the security of our fellow citizens in France
".
On Wednesday, US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin also expressed his "
strong opposition"
to the launch of a new offensive by Ankara.
Since November 20, about 65 people have been killed in these strikes: 35 SDF fighters, 28 members of the Syrian regime forces, as well as a journalist working for a Kurdish news agency, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 'Man (OSDH).
The raids were ordered in retaliation for the attack that hit Istanbul on November 13th.
The head of state notably accuses the Turkish Kurdish rebels of the PKK of having committed this attack, which killed six people and injured 81 others.
