Beirut - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)
declared a three-day state of heightened alert on Wednesday ahead of
a planned Turkish incursion into north-eastern Syria.
"As threats and mobilization of the Turkish Army and its mercenaries
escalate ... we call on our people ... to go to the area bordering
Turkey to carry out their moral duty and show resistance at these
sensitive historical moments," an SDF statement said.
Turkey has been sending reinforcements to posts along its border with
Syria.
A convoy of more than a 100 vehicles, carrying troops, weapons and
construction equipment was headed to Sanliurfa's Akcakale district,
some 6 kilometres from the strategic northern Syrian town of Tal
Abyad, state news agency Anadolu reported.
"The Turkish military, together with the Free Syrian Army, will cross
the Turkish-Syrian border shortly," warned Fahrettin Altun, Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's communications director, in an
overnight Washington Post op-ed.
A Turkish army officer prepares to upload a tank from a truck to its new position on the Turkish side of the border between Turkey and Syria, in Sanliurfa province, southeastern Turkey. Picture: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP
On Monday, US troops started pulling back from areas in north-eastern
Syria along Turkey's border, paving the way for a Turkish incursion.
The SDF, which has been the main partner allied with the US in
defeating Islamic State, dominates a swathe of territory in
north-eastern Syria.
Ankara has been pushing for the removal of Syrian Kurdish forces
along its border, saying they are tied to the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) waging an insurgency within Turkey.
The SDF also called on Kurds across the world to carry out protests
and sit-ins.
It said the United Nations, the US, the European Union and Russia
would be responsible for a "humanitarian disaster" in northern Syria
if Turkey invades.