By Marjorie Cohn / Truthout / Oct. 23, 2019
Nearly two weeks have passed since Turkey launched its ground and air attack on Rojava, the autonomous region of northeast Syria, following Trump’s sudden removal of 1,000 U.S. troops from the area.
While the United States and Turkey reached a “ceasefire” agreement on October 17, there are ongoing reports of violations of the deal. A U.S. official told CNN that Turkish-backed forces broke the ceasefire on its first day, saying that they were either acting beyond the scope of Turkish control or Turkey “didn’t care what they did.” Two U.S. officials said the ceasefire “is not holding.”
The agreement calls for a five-day ceasefire and requires Kurdish fighters to leave an area of Syria along the Turkish border, in essence, relinquishing control of their territory. The United States would lift the threat of further sanctions on Turkey, and once a “permanent cease-fire” occurs, would remove the sanctions that Trump imposed in the wake of criticism of his abrupt withdrawal from the region.
Turkish airstrikes have killed at least 20 civilians and 14 Kurdish fighters since the “ceasefire” was announced, according to the Kurds.
“The so-called cease-fire is not what we expected,” European Union Council President Donald Tusk told reporters. “In fact, it’s a demand of capitulation of the Kurds.” Turkey concurs. Turkish foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said the deal was not a ceasefire but only a “pause for our operation,” adding, “We got what we wanted.”
Indeed, U.S. military officials told The New York Times “they were stunned that the agreement essentially allowed Turkey to annex a portion of Syria, displace tens of thousands of Kurdish residents and wipe away years of counterterrorism gains against the Islamic State.”
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Copyright Truthout. Reprinted with permission.
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