An official from the us Defense Department has said the US no longer delivers weapons to Syrian Kurdish militia the People’s Protection Units (YPG), but rather provides arms to the Syrian opposition forces battling the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a policy shift that would soothe the concerns of Turkey, a NATO ally, over the expansion of Kurdish influence in northern Syria.
“As of now, we are not providing weapons or ammunition to the YPG. The weapons that we’ve provided thus far, with the ammunition that we’ve provided in our one airdrop that executed, was for the Syrian-Arab coalition,” Col. Steve Warren, a Baghdad-based spokesman for the US-led coalition against ISIL, told reporters via teleconference from Baghdad.
“As of now, future resupplies will also go to Arab-vetted Syrian opposition members,” he added in response to a question.
His remarks came as Turkey voiced displeasure and concern over the deepening nature of US-YPG cooperation against ISIL in Syria. The Kurdish militia proved to be one of the most potent and formidable fighting forces against the ISIL, wresting hundreds of miles of territory back from the radical group.
Left without viable alternatives, the US found itself aligned with the YPG to roll back ISIL gains in Syria. That cooperation, the YPG on the ground backed by US air strikes, notably paid off.
The YPG factor remains a major element of friction between the US and Turkey as the latter views further territorial gains by Kurdish militia as a threat to its national security. Ankara sees a link between the YPG and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is fighting the Turkish state for autonomy and more rights to Kurdish community.
Turkey fears the YPG-controlled zone may fuel separatist sentiment among its own Kurdish constituency. While the PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by the US, the EU and Turkey, Washington does not regard the YPG in same category despite Turkish depiction of the Syrian militia as a terrorist organization.
US eyes more weapons to Syrian rebels
Warren told reporters the SDF had taken back about 255 square kilometers from ISIL around the village of al-Hawl.
Some of those forces included fighters from the Syrian Arab Coalition, which the United States says received 50 tons of ammunition during a US airdrop into Syria on Oct. 12.
Warren said the operation was backed by 17 US-led coalition air strikes, killing 79 ISIL fighters and destroying ISIL weapons systems around al-Hawl, near the Iraqi border.
“While this is not a large tactical action, we believe the operation demonstrates the viability of our program to provide support to these forces,” Warren told Pentagon reporters.
Asked whether this meant more air drops of weaponry, either arms or ammunition, Warren said: “On the weapons resupply, yes. The answer is yes.”
The US military, when it carried out its first air drop of ammunition last month to the Syrian Arab Coalition, said it was going to make sure the weaponry was used correctly before providing additional arms.