One wave is not flat, and another wave is rising. The situation in Russia and Ukraine is still escalating, and the Middle East "powder keg" has exploded again. CCTV news reported that Kurdish forces once again fired 3 rockets from Syria to the border area of Kilis province in southeastern Turkey. Two days ago, Kurdish forces fired rockets, injuring one soldier and seven policemen.
Kurdish armed forces "in their own right"
Turkey has a population of 85 million, of which nearly 15 million are Kurds, accounting for up to 18%, and they live in 1/6 of Turkey. These 18% of Kurds have their own set of conventional lifestyles, which are completely contrary to the Turks.
In addition to Turkey's Kurdish armed forces, Syria, Iraq, and Iran also have a part, totaling more than 30 million people. The Kurdish armed forces in these four places have always wanted to establish an independent state, so they formed the PKK in 1979. Turkey calls it a "terrorist organization," and the two sides have been fighting for decades, during which time they have repeatedly launched terrorist attacks that have killed more than 30,000 people.
For many years, Kurdish forces have "burned wildfires endlessly, and the spring breeze has blown again." The main reason for this is that Kurds live scattered along the borders of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. In any country, they are surrounded and blocked, and if they can't win, they will flee to other countries. Wait until the "limelight passes" and make a comeback.
Erdogan smacked ruthlessly!
In recent days, Turkey has been hit by a series of rocket attacks, schools and homes indiscriminately, causing a large number of casualties, including children.
In this regard, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan put aside his cruel words, intending to send troops to Syria to launch ground attacks on Kurdish forces, and even threatened to "eradicate" Kurdish forces. Erdogan also stressed that Turkey will take all measures to counter any behavior that threatens national security and interests, and will not make any concessions.
For this statement, the outside world generally believes that Erdogan is ready to "move the truth". The reason why there was no direct dispatch of troops, but the early release of the signal of "possible dispatch of troops" is obviously a test of the attitude of the United States and Russia.
The United States and Russia expressed their positions at the same time
Alexander Lavlentyev, the Russian president's special envoy for Syria, said Russia urged Turkey to exercise restraint in air strikes involving Syrian territory and not to allow tensions to continue to escalate. He said that efforts should continue to work with all parties concerned to find a peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem.
The United States also called on Turkey to exercise restraint and cease military operations to avoid renewed instability in Syria and implicating more civilians. Obviously, in the US response, there was no mention of Kurdish forces. However, the message to Erdogan is clear, the United States opposes Turkey sending troops to Syria to attack the Kurds, and if Erdogan does not listen, then the United States will intervene.
The U.S. warning is enough to deter Turkey, after all, there are still large numbers of American troops stationed in the Kurdish region of northeastern Syria. Given this, Turkey is bound to think twice. Although the United States has never publicly acknowledged it, it is an indisputable fact that Kurdish forces are "proxies" of the United States in Syria and the Middle East.
Although Erdogan's warning is not enough to make the United States fearful, the United States will inevitably worry that once the Kurdish armed forces are hit hard by Turkey, then it will not be so easy for the US military to continue to plunder oil resources in Syria. In addition to Turkey, the Kurdish armed forces in Iran have not been very secure recently.
A few days ago, Iran suddenly launched a late night attack on Kurdish forces in Iraq, using missiles and suicide drones to carry out air strikes on the two areas of the organization, on the grounds that the organization was suspected of inciting protests in Iran in an attempt to subvert the Iranian regime. Whether it is the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, or the turmoil in the Middle East, it will once again set off a round of changes. The mountain rain is coming. The situation is still changing, and it will be up to the parties to respond.