French MPs call on Western states to oppose Turkish incursion into north Syria

French MPs call on Western states to oppose Turkish incursion into north Syria
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A group of MPs in France have released a statement urging Western states to stand against Turkey's plans to launch "yet another bloodthirsty offensive against the Kurds of northern Syria."

In a joint statement, 102 French deputies urged Western states not to remain silent in the face of a pending Turkish incursion into north Syria.

The statement signed by parliamentary members of various affiliations was published on Saturday in Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD).

It read:

“In the shadow of global sentiments while Vladimir Putin’s Russia commits more war crimes in Ukraine, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan plans to launch yet another bloodthirsty offensive against the Kurds of northern Syria. Today it is taking advantage of its status as a NATO hub in the context of the conflict in Ukraine to obtain a blank check from the Atlantic Alliance to intensify its attacks in northern Syria. In the regions controlled by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), Kurdish, Arab, Assyrian-Chaldean, Armenian and all ethnic groups live together and try to organize themselves within a democratic, feminist and ecological system, despite the appalling conditions due to the war. They fight to build peace, in permanent dialogue with the peoples.”

It continued:

“Erdoğan has already launched one offensive, in 2019, aimed at destabilizing the Kurdish social and political fabric, at the cost of countless civilian casualties, immeasurable destruction and innumerable acts of barbarism. Western countries must no longer look away in the face of abuses committed by the Turkish army.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly expressed his determination since early June to launch a fresh military campaign in northern Syria to extend a "security corridor" against "terror threats."

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), a political entity established in the region during the Syrian civil war under the leadership of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), is regarded as a security threat by the Turkish administration.

Turkish air strikes targeting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), armed forces of the AANES and also part of the global coalition in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), have been ramped up recently, as the United States, Russia and Iran have been voicing opposition to a Turkish ground operation to occupy further parts of northern Syria.