Following Turkish media reports last week, the U.S. military has confirmed that it has begun shipping weapons to the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG/YPJ) to prepare for the battle to liberate Raqqa, Syria, from the Islamic State.
The YPG – the military wing of the Syrian People’s Democratic Unit (PYD) – is widely considered to be the most effective militia against ISIS on the ground in Syria and cooperates with both the United States and Russia. The government of Turkey objects to supporting them, however, having designated the YPG a terrorist group for its ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its alleged aim of establishing a sovereign Kurdistan. While America supports the YPG, it has officially designated the Marxist PKK a terrorist organization.
The YPG is the largest faction in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a multi-ethnic anti-Islamic State coalition.
“The U.S.-led coalition has begun issuing arms and equipment to Kurdish elements of the S.D.F.,” the New York Times quotes Col. Ryan S. Dillon, a military spokesman in Baghdad, stating via email Tuesday. He specified that the equipment included “small arms, ammunition, heavy machine guns … [and equipment to protect from] heavily armored vehicle-borne I.E.D.s.”
“Wherever possible, our advisers will monitor the use of the weapons and supplies we give the Kurdish elements of the S.D.F., ensuring use only against ISIS. Any alleged misuse or diversion of U.S. support will be taken seriously and lead to the possible curtailment of support, if verified,” he added.
The Kurdish outlet Kurdistan24 published confirmations that the shipments had arrived from the leaders of both the PYD, co-President Salih Muslim, and YPJ spokeswoman Nisreen Abdalla. (The YPJ is the all-female counterpart of the YPG.) “We consider this decision a historical step, and we highly appreciate it,” Abdalla said while Muslim heralded the “mutual trust” between the United States and the YPG forces.
The Trump administration announced that it would arm the YPG in May. “The SDF, partnered with enabling support from U.S. and coalition forces, are the only force on the ground that can successfully seize Raqqa in the near future,” Pentagon spokesperson Dana White said in a statement at the time. “We are keenly aware of the security concerns of our coalition partner Turkey. We want to reassure the people and government of Turkey that the U.S. is committed to preventing additional security risks and protecting our NATO ally.”
Last week, the Turkish newspapers Hurriyet and Milliyet reported that American troops had begun shipping the weapons in question to the YPG. Hurriyet estimated the size of the convoy carrying the shipment to be about one hundred military vehicles, and Milliyet published images the newspaper claimed were of the vehicles in question. The former predicted the shipment included “fuel oil, military armored vehicles, heavy construction equipment and ammunition.”
Turkey’s National Security Council (MGK) issued a stern condemnation of the move on Wednesday. “It has been emphasized that the implementation of a policy to support the PKK/PYD-YPG terrorist organization in the guise of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), ignoring Turkey’s expectations, does not befit a friendship and alliance,” the MGK said in a statement.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, meanwhile, called the move “extremely dangerous” and a threat to “all humanity.”
“We emphasize how risky YPG support is for the future of Syria. … These steps are extremely dangerous in terms of Syria’s national unity and border integrity,” he argued. Turkish state media have published a series of reports accusing the PKK of establishing an “umbrella organization” network, including the YPG, to legitimize itself.
During his visit to Washington in May, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also attempted to convince President Trump to rescind his support for the YPG but appears to have failed.
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