Turkey rules out risk of ‘US clash’ in Syria operation

ISTANBUL: Turkey on Sunday ruled out the risk of a clash with American forces in its operation in Syria, saying there were no US troops in the area where the campaign was taking place.

Turkey on Saturday launched operation "Olive Branch" seeking to oust from the Afrin region of northern Syria the Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) which Ankara considers a terror group.

But the campaign risks further increasing tensions with Turkey’s Nato ally the United States -- which has used the YPG in the fight against Islamic State Jihadists.

"US officials declared that there has been no American military or American soldiers in the region," Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag told reporters in Istanbul.

"It is out of the question to have a direct clash between Turkey and the US in the region," he added.

Afrin is an enclave of YPG control, cut off from the longer strip of northern Syria that the group controls to the east extending to the Iraqi border, where there is an American presence.

Turkey has repeatedly been incensed by images from northern Syria showing US soldiers working closely with YPG forces.

There was no immediate comment from the United States on the offensive but ahead of its launch a senior State Department official had raised concerns it risked being harmful for security in the region.

"Turkey has used its right under international law," said Bozdag, who is the top government spokesman, refusing to be drawn on how long the operation would take.

"We have predictions but we know the force of the terrorists there, their logistics and infrastructure," he said, refusing to provide a precise time.

He added that the operation "is not taking aim at the Kurds... to the contrary, it is aimed at saving the Kurds from the threat and oppression of terror groups."

"Our ultimate goal is to enforce democratic institutions in the region and leave the region to its real owners," he added.

Meanwhile, President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday condemned Turkey’s offensive against Kurdish militia in the northern Syrian region of Afrin, saying it was part of Ankara’s support for extremist groups.

Turkey and allied Syrian rebels entered the Afrin region on Sunday, a day after launching their offensive against the Kurdish-controlled area.

"The brutal Turkish aggression on the Syrian town of Afrin cannot be separated from the Turkish regime’s policy from the first day of Syria’s crisis, which was essentially built on supporting terrorism and terrorist organisations, whatever their names," Assad said in statements carried by state news agency Sana.

Since Syria’s conflict broke out in 2011, the government has repeatedly slammed Ankara for its support of rebels, accusing it of funding Jihadist factions.

As Turkish threats of a potential attack escalated last week, Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad warned that Syria could shoot down Turkish warplanes used in an assault.

But the Damascus regime has also previously taken a hard line against the Kurdish authorities, which have implemented semi-autonomous institutions across parts of northern Syria, including Afrin.

On Saturday, a foreign ministry official denied claims by Turkish authorities that it had been informed of the Afrin offensive and called the attack "the latest move in Turkey’s attacks on Syria’s sovereignty".