Turkey seeks to “take over new lands for ISIS” through its planned offensive in northeastern Syria, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said in a press conference on Wednesday.
“Through these attacks, Turkey seeks to take over new lands for ISIS, and prolong the life of these organizations and we do not accept in any way the attacks of Turkey and anyone supporting it,” an SDF spokesman said.
The Turkish defense ministry earlier said preparations for a military operation in northern Syria against a Kurdish militia viewed by Ankara as terrorists were “completed.”
US President Donald Trump had ordered the withdrawal of US troops from Turkey’s border with Syria after a phone call with his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The Turkish president has repeatedly threatened to attack Kurdish militants in northern Syria due to their ties with separatists in his own country.
“The whole world knows the aim of this Turkish attack on northeast Syria. We call on human rights organizations, democratic institutions, the EU and the UN to take an opposing stance toward the Turkish attack and anyone who ignores it will be considered a supporter of its acts,” the SDF spokesman said.
“We will not target the Turkish nation but if it insists on attacking us and occupying our lands, we will use our legitimate right to defend ourselves,” he added.
