Turkey’s military build-up at the border to invade North-East Syria continues. Dispatchment of Turkish troops and allied mercenaries continued last night to the Akçakale district facing Gire Spi and Ceylanpınar district (of Urfa) that faces Serekaniye, with two northern Syrian cities being the primary targets of invasion.

Following the talks held between the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, the US-led Coalition and the Turkish state in Ankara on 5-6-7 August, it was decided to build a border security mechanism in the area between Serekaniye and Gire Spi.

Within the scope of Border Security Mechanism, the US and Turkish military officials set up a Joint Coordination Center in Urfa province and 10 joint patrols were made in the determined border strip; 3 by air and 7 by land. The last joint patrol by land took place on October 4.

However, following his Moscow visit on 27 August, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that the agreement in question did not “satisfy” them, signaling an imminent invasion operation against the region.

‘1998 ADANA PACK’ PROPOSAL FROM RUSSIA AND IRAN

The threats of invasion against the region reached the peak at the triple summit of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, held in Ankara on 16 September.

While Erdoğan asked for support from Putin and Rouhani for the invasion of northern Syria, the two countries referred to the ‘Adana Pact’ signed by Turkey and Syria in 1998 and gave the message “come to terms with Assad”. The Turkish officials, in the meantime, claim to be respecting Syria’s territorial integrity.

MIT-MUHABARAT TALKS

In the meanwhile, the Turkish intelligence services MIT which was long engaged in talks with the Syrian intelligence Muhabarat on Russian and Iranian mediation, has concentrated on these talks recently. A series of talks have been held at the Russian Khmeimim base in Syria, in Moscow and in Tehran.

ERDOĞAN THREATENED EUROPE FIRST

Attending the United Nations (UN) General Assembly meeting held in New York in late September with maps in his hands and asking for ratification for invasion, the Turkish President threatened the European countries with refugees.

THREATS BY SYRIA AND ISIS FOLLOWED

Concurrently with Erdoğan’s threats, the Syrian regime declared Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) “terrorist” and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ordered the sleeper cells to attack North-East Syria.

WITHDRAWAL OF THE COALITION

Following the phone conversation between Turkish President Erdoğan and the US President Trump on 7 October, the White House released a statement and announced that the US troops would be withdrawn from the border. After a few hours, two positions located between Serekaniye and Gire Spi were evacuated.

The withdrawal of US troops from their positions in Serekaniye and Gire Spi, which were included in the Border Security Mechanism agreement, was widely interpreted as the US giving permission for Turkish invasion.

PEOPLES OF THE REGION RISE UP

The peoples of North-East Syria have been pouring into the streets and protesting against Turkish invasion in all cities in the region during recent days. People have set up tents and started human shield actions along the border.

The three tents at Gire Spi border and one in Serekaniye are daily flooded by visitors from Kurdish, Arab, Syriac, Assyrian, Chaldean, Armenian, Circassian, Turkmen and Chechen communities living in North-East Syria.

THE AUTONOMOUS ADMINISTRATION AND SDF VOW TO RESIST

As the peoples of the region give message of resistance to defend their lands and achievements, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced that they would resist against invasion.

ISIS ACTS IN COORDINATION WITH TURKEY

As the Turkish state goes from door to door to receive full support for invasion from the international arena, the sleeper cells of ISIS have conducted an extensive aggression against SDF’s security positions in the Basil neighborhood in Raqqa city center last night. The attack carried out by dozens of mercenaries was followed by fierce clashes in the city.