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As Turkey threatens a bloody confrontation with a U.S.-backed Kurdish militia in the main Syrian Kurdish enclave in northwestern Syria, it faces the challenge of maintaining its old alliance with Washington and reinforcing a new rapprochement with Moscow.

The move comes as Syria once again finds itself on the precipice of a new conflict, after months of reduced violence and a surge in post-war stabilization plans. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Syrians in the northwest are fleeing the renewed violence amid a new government offensive in neighboring Idlib, converging on the Turkish border and igniting fears of a new wave of migration.

Turkish warplanes hit 45 targets in northern Syria's Afrin region on Sunday, the military said, as ground forces pushed into the area in an operation targeting a U.S.-backed Kurdish militia.Iran responded quickly Sunday and called for a quick end to a Turkish incursion into northern Syria's Afrin province, saying it may help "terrorist" groups, state news agency IRNA reported.

A wider Turkish-Kurdish confrontation

Turkeys defense minister, Nurettin Canikli, said Friday there was no turning back from launching a ground assault on Syrias Afrin enclave, saying the offensive had de facto started with sporadic Turkish military shelling of the area. Over the last week, Turkey has sent troops and tanks to the border and rallied Syrian fighters it has backed for the fight against Afrins battle-hardened Kurdish fighters, estimated at between 8,000 and 10,000.

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The operation could spill into a wider Turkish-Kurdish confrontation inside Turkey. It also threatens to turn into a humanitarian disaster. The Afrin district houses no less than 800,000 civilians, including displaced people from earlier years of the Syrian war.

Turkey has been preparing for a showdown in Afrin for a while. But the recent escalation coincides with U.S. announcements that it is creating a new 30,000-strong Kurdish-led border force to secure the frontiers of Kurdish-controlled areas, including with Turkey and Iraq, to prevent the resurgence of Islamic State militants.

Where is Russia?

Moscows green light is necessary for a Turkish operation into Afrin, where Russian military observers have deployed since last year to prevent such a confrontation.

Activists and Kurdish fighters have denied claims in Turkish media that Russian troops have begun a withdrawal.

Russia, Iran and Turkey are interested in limiting the U.S. presence in Syria, and have protested Washingtons plans to create the border force, viewed as a U.S. attempt to create a buffer zone where Iranian and Syrian government influence ends.

"Unilateral actions" by the United States in Iran and Syria have infuriated Turkey, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Kommersant newspaper in an interview.

"Many political scientists are asking why do we care and say that the worst is the best: let the United States prove its inability to find an agreement, (to show) its destructive role in global affairs, let it be in Iran or Syria and where the unilateral actions have already infuriated Turkey," he said.

In the interview to Kommersant, conducted earlier this week and published on Sunday, Lavrov also said that an attempt by the U.S. via the possible new sanctions to change Russian foreign policy was 'unpromising'

Ankaras military operations in Syria began in 2016 in large part to curtail the formation of a contiguous territory under Kurdish control along its borders. It successfully severed that territorial continuity when it deployed its troops and proxy Syrian fighters to areas between Kurdish enclaves in eastern and western Syria.

Afrin remained the only Kurdish enclave in northwestern Syria, encircled by Turkey-backed rebels, and Turkey has been preparing an assault for over a year. Turkey claims that Afrin is an operating base for fighters of its own outlawed Kurdish insurgent group, the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, to infiltrate Turkish territories.

Erdogan on the attack

In dealing with the conflicts in Afrin and Idlib, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has shown political acumen, juggling national security interests and domestic election concerns, while exerting pressure on Washington and Moscow for his long-term strategic objectives. The threats of an offensive against Kurdish fighters help consolidate nationalist support for Erdogan, who faces a crucial election next year.

With an assault on Afrin, Turkey seeks to further undermine the Kurdish dream of federalized rule in northern Syria. Driving the Kurdish militia out of Afrin would also allow Turkey-backed Syrian fighters supporting its offensive to link Idlib to Syrias largest city, Aleppo.

Turkey deployed troops in November in Idlib to monitor a de-escalation agreement with Russia and Iran, but they were more strategically stationed along the border with Afrin.

The timing reflects Turkeys increased frustration with U.S. support for Kurdish forces in Syria, who are now in control of nearly 25 percent of the country, in areas that straddle the Turkish and Iraqi border.

Turkey remains a loyal and trusted friend and ally of the U.S. and the West. But that does not mean we will accept being treated as sacrificial animals just because a couple of American generals want to embark on an adventure in the Middle East, Ilnur Cevik, an Erdogan presidential adviser, wrote in the Turkish daily Sabah.

Will the U.S. respond?

Despite assurances to Turkey from State Secretary Rex Tillerson, who says the Kurdish-led border force has been misrepresented, there doesnt seem to be a major shift in U.S. policy in Syria.

If anything, he exacerbated it. Erdogan will perceive Tillersons announcement of longer term U.S. presence in Syria as doubling down on our partnership with (the Kurdish militia), which does not de-escalate the Turks, said Elizabeth Teoman, a Turkey researcher with the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.

The Trump administration has been urging Turkey not to attack Afrin, asking Turkish officials to avoid unilateral actions, said two U.S. officials, who werent authorized to discuss diplomatic conversations and demanded anonymity.

The U.S military doesnt have any presence in Afrin, one of the officials said, but a Turkish operation there could have an impact on U.S. operations further east in Syria. The U.S. worries that such an operation could prove to be a distraction from defeating the last vestiges of the Islamic State group, the officials said, adding that the new Kurdish-led border force is nothing new and should not come as a surprise to the Turkish government.

Meanwhile, Turkey has maneuvered to curtail a wide Russian-backed Syrian government military operation in Idlib the largest remaining insurgent-held area in Syria. The offensive has already caused tens of thousands to flee and has threatened to undermine Erdogans clout in the region.

Turkeys threatened ground assault in Afrin comes as the Idlib operation has intensified, with the Syrian government positioning rival troops near Turkeys forces there, threatening Turkey-backed Syrian insurgents in the province and creating conditions for a humanitarian disaster.

As the offensive has unfolded, Russian bases in Syria have come under unprecedented drone attacks, sparking tension between Moscow and Turkey amid accusations that such drones would have required assistance from a country possessing satellite navigation technology.

A Syrian Kurdish official, Ilham Ahmed, said the Russians were bargaining with Turkey over Afrin in exchange for allowing the government to take Idlib. Russia would prefer handing over Idlib to the Syrian government, instead of Turkey-backed opposition fighters. What to do with al-Qaida-linked group remains a dilemma for all parties, and is a sticking point between the U.S. and Turkey.

Last week, the government offensive in Idlib slowed down amid a counteroffensive from the rebel forces and bad weather. But the airstrikes continued and the number of the provinces displaced resident has reached about 215,000 since mid-December.

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Turkey vs. the Kurds: Erdogan attacks U.S.-backed forces in ...

Ankara has de facto begun its operation against Kurdish forces in Syrias Afrin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after the army called the military strike legitimate self-defense.

READ MORE:Turkish planes bomb Syrian Kurdish targets as Ankara-backed rebels enter Afrin

The Afrin operation has de facto been started on the ground, Erdogan said in a televised speech in the city of Kutahya, as cited by AFP.

This will be followed by Manbij, he added, referring to a Kurdish-controlled town in northern Syria, about 30 kilometers west of the Euphrates.

Both Afrin and Manbij are controlled by the YPG Syrian Kurdish militia.

The promises made to us over Manbij were not kept. So nobody can object if we do what is necessary, Erdogan said, referring to previous US assurances that the YPG would move out of Afrin.

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Later we will step-by-step clear our country up to the Iraqi border from this terror filth that is trying to besiege our country, he concluded.

The army said it shelled Kurdish positions in Syrias Afrin region on Friday and Saturday, destroying shelters and hideouts used by militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Syrias Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG).

In a written statement, the Turkish General Staff said the army hit the terrorist organizations shelters within the scope of legitimate self-defense, as cited by Turkish news agency Anadolu.

According to Ankara, Syrias Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its affiliate Peoples Protection Units (YPG) are allegedly linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey.

Turkeys Defense Minister said on Friday that Ankara has no option but to carry out a military operation in the north-western Syrian enclave of Afrin (a Kurdish-held area of Syria.) The minister added that the operation has actually de facto started with cross-border shelling.

According to Anadolu, at least ten howitzer shells were fired on targets in Syria by Turkish artillery deployed in the Kirikhan and Hassa districts of Hatay province. The Turkish military said they are preventing the creation of a terror corridor connecting Syrian Kurdish enclaves along the border.

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RIA Novosti cited an YPG source as saying on Friday that more than 70 artillery rockets coming from the Turkish side had landed in the Afrin area.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Monday that "the operation [in Afrin] may start at any time adding that operations into other regions will come after.

Turkeys allies should think twice before they consider helping what he called terrorists in Syria, Erdogan said.

We wont be responsible for the consequences, the Turkish leader warned.

On Friday, the main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, called on the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to put their faith in diplomacy before launching any military operation into Afrin.

If diplomacy is used, an agreement is reached, and aerial support is also provided, the problem can be solved. Otherwise, the problem would grow bigger and its cost for Turkey would be hefty, the lawmaker warned, as cited by Hurriyet newspaper.

On Thursday, Damascus warned Turkey against launching a military operation in Afrin, noting that Syrian air defenses are ready to defend against any acts of aggression.

We warn the Turkish leadership that if they initiate combat operations in the Afrin area, that will be considered an act of aggression by the Turkish army, Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Meqdad said in a statement, as cited by Reuters.

The Syrian air defenses have restored their full force and they are ready to destroy Turkish aviation targets in Syrian Arab Republic skies, he added.

Over the past week, tanks and self-propelled howitzers have been arriving in the border areas inside Turkey, local media reported. Notably, the army has deployed signal jammers, indicating that the intervention might also include electronic warfare.

The looming military op in Afrin is a follow-up to Turkeys seven-month Euphrates Shield Operation that was meant to target Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) and drive Kurdish forces out of their enclaves in northern Syria.

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Erdogan officially announces that Turkish military ... - rt.com

His comments came a day after the US publicly admitted it is supplying weapons and training to the Syrian Democratic Forces which include militia from the Kurdish YPG.

YPG fighters, many of them women, have played a major role in flushing out ISIS from northern Syria, including from Raqqa.

Turkey considers the YPG to be the Syrian arm of the PKK, an outlawed Kurdish group responsible for major terror attacks in the Turkey as part of its bid for national ethnic autonomy. The European Union and the US have both named the PKK as a terrorist outfit.

"The US has admitted to building an army of terror along our national borders," Erdogan reportedly told workers of a new sodium factory in Ankara. "It is our responsibility to suffocate this effort before it is born."

In his address at the opening of the Kazan Soda Electric Company, Erdogan also warned that the PKK will turn on its US sponsors at the drop of a hat.

"The name of this army should be the traitors' army," Erdogan was reported as saying. "As soon as this 30,000 strong terrorist army comes under threat, they will be the first to turn their guns on the American soldiers."

Coalition assisting to build Border Security Force

Sunday, US Army Col. Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the anti-ISIS Operation Inherent Resolve, said in a statement that coalition forces were working with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to establish and train the new Syrian Border Security Force (BSF).

"Currently, there are approximately 230 individuals training in the BSF's inaugural class, with the goal of a final force size of approximately 30,000," Dillon said.

He added that the idea was to train these defense forces in areas close to their homes. "More Kurds will serve in the areas in northern Syria. More Arabs will serve in areas along the Euphrates River Valley and along the border with Iraq to the south," he said.

Dillon said half of the planned 30,000 troops it will train were SDF veterans.

"These individuals will bring much-needed experience and discipline to the young force," Dillon said.

"To fill the other 15,000 positions, recruiting and training is underway. As previously mentioned, recruiting is being done in such a manner as to build a force reflecting the populations they serve."

Erdogan added in his Ankara speech that Turkey has already raised its concerns about the new border force with Washington and its allies.

"What we have told all our allies and friends is this: do not stand between us and terrorists, between us and murderers, otherwise it may give rise to situations that are unwanted and we will not be responsible," he was reported as saying.

"Take down the flags you fly on terrorist bases so that we do not have to hand them back to you. Remove your signage from terrorist uniforms so we do not have to bury them on the ground with the terrorists," he said.

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Erdogan accuses US of creating Kurdish terror enclave on ...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Washington of establishing an army of terror along the Turkish border, as his country drew closer to open confrontation with U.S.-backed Kurdish troops in neighboring Syria.

Erdogan, who regards the Kurdish fighters as affiliates of Turkish Kurds battling for autonomy in Turkeys southeast, said Monday that a Turkish offensive in the Kurdish-controlled town of Afrin in northern Syria was imminent. The spark for the campaign is a new U.S.-backed plan to turn thousands of Syrian Kurds who fought Islamic State into border guards in areas they control along Turkeys frontier.

Turkey is afraid the Syrian Kurdish fighters incorporation into the force will give them cover to stage attacks on Turkey. It also says it will further their aim to consolidate a single autonomous region including Afrin along the Turkish frontier, and embolden PKK separatists the Turkish military has been fighting for more than three decades. Turkish military reinforcements were moved into the Afrin area over the weekend, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

Turkey will suffocate this terror army before its born, Erdogan said. Our preparations have been completed. The operation is due to start any moment. After that, other regions will follow.

The impending face-off with the U.S. proxy exacerbates the already considerable strains that have tested Turkeys relations with Washington in recent years. Ankara has also been angered by the trial and conviction of a Turkish banker in the U.S. on sanctions violation charges, and Washingtons non-action on its request to extradite a Pennsylvania-based Turkish preacher Erdogan accuses of instigating a failed 2016 coup.

Turkish army units fired dozens of shells toward Kurdish positions in and around Afrin on Sunday. The army also beefed up troops in the area with armored personnel carriers and tanks over the weekend, according to Anadolu.

Turkey has acted against the Syrian Kurdish forces before. It began operating in northern Syria in 2016, its participation in an international effort to defeat Islamic State dovetailing with its campaign to block the convergence of Kurdish-run regions. An earlier deployment in Idlib, to the south of Afrin, denied the Kurds access to the Mediterranean Sea -- a prized target for a planned Kurdish corridor running all the way to northern Iraq.

The U.S. backed the Kurdish fighters because it regarded them as the most effective force against Islamic State. With the war against the extremist group largely won, Turkey sees no reason for incorporating Kurdish troops into the border guard unit.

Turkeys National Security Council, which advises on military actions, is scheduled to meet on Jan. 17. Turkish officials vowed similar action on several occasions last year.

The U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State said in an emailed statement Monday that the border security force will prohibit Islamic State freedom of movement and deny the transportation of illicit materials so the Syrian people can establish effective local, representative governance and reclaim their land. Ethnic composition of the force, it said, will be relative to the areas in which they serve.

With assistance by Asli Kandemir

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Erdogan Accuses U.S. of Creating `Army of Terror' on Turk ...

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Turkeys military incursion in northern Syrias Idlib province would crush Kurdish militia forces that control the neighboring region of Afrin.

The Kurdish YPG militia said Turkish forces inside Syria fired shells into Afrin on Saturday, but no one was wounded.

Turkish troops entered Idlib three months ago after an agreement with Russia and Iran for the three countries to try to reduce fighting between pro-Syrian government forces and rebel fighters in the largest remaining insurgent-held part of Syria.

But the few observation posts which the Turkish army says it has established are close to the dividing line between Arab rebel-held land and the Kurdish-controlled region of Afrin.

If the terrorists in Afrin dont surrender we will tear them down, Erdogan told a congress of his ruling AK Party in the eastern Turkish city of Elazig.

The Kurdish YPG militia said Turkish forces stationed in Syria shelled several Kurdish villages in the Afrin region on Saturday, without causing casualties.

Rojhat Roj, the YPG spokesman in Afrin, told Reuters the shelling was carried out by Turkish forces in Dar Taizaah and Qalat Seman - areas where he said Turkish forces had deployed as part of the agreement with Russia and Iran.

From our side, there is no shelling at present, he added.

Erdogan has said the Kurdish YPG militia is trying to establish a terror corridor on Turkeys southern border, linking Afrin with a large Kurdish-controlled area to the east.

In 2016 Turkey launched its Euphrates Shield military offensive in northern Syria to push back Islamic State from the border and drive a wedge between the Kurdish controlled regions.

With the Euphrates Shield operation we cut the terror corridor right in the middle. We hit them one night suddenly. With the dlib operation, we are collapsing the western wing, Erdogan said, referring to Afrin.

He also said Turkey could drive YPG forces out of Manbij. The mainly Arab town lies west of the Euphrates, and Turkey has long demanded that Kurdish fighters pull back east of the river.

In Manbij, if they break the promises, we will take the matter in our own hands until there are no terrorists left. They will see what well do in about a week, Erdogan said.

Turkey was a major supporter of rebels fighting to overthrow Syrias President Bashar al-Assad, but is alarmed by the strength of Kurdish forces - which Ankara says are linked to Kurdish militants fighting in southeast Turkey.

It has criticized the United States for arming YPG and Arab fighters in the Syrian Democratic Forces, which drove Islamic State out of Raqqa and other parts of Syria.

The U.S. sent 4,900 trucks of weapons in Syria. We know this. This is not what allies do, Erdogan said. We know they sent 2,000 planes full of weapons.

Reporting by Irem Koca in Istanbul and Tom Perry in Beirut; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Alexander Smith

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Erdogan says Turkey will crush Kurdish militia in Afrin | Reuters