SDF denies receiving drones from coalition forces
“Those claims are far from reality, and this has also been denied by the commander of the Deir ez-Zor council forces,” Kino Gabriel, spokesperson for the SDF told Rudaw’s Dilbxwin Dara on Tuesday, referring to claims circulating on social media.
The SDF is the only ally of the Coalition against ISIS on the ground in Syria. It announced the territorial defeat of ISIS in March 2019 and has conducted multiple military operations against small groups of ISIS and sleeper cells since then.
Coalition forces have provided the SDF with ammunition, training, and military support as well as humanitarian aid such as providing Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) in response to the spread of the coronavirus.
The spokesperson also commented on continued attacks Turkish military and their Syrian proxies, describing them as “nothing new”. He did note an increase in their frequency.
“The amount of strikes has increased recently and we see more and more of them,” said Gabriel.
Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring against the SDF in October 2019, controlling Gire Spi and Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain) before reaching ceasefire agreements with Russia and the USA. However, it has regularly bombarded SDF-held areas since then.
“Turkey is obviously trying to take advantage of the instabilities in the region and use that to attain more land,” he added.
The US-led Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) is a global alliance formed in 2014 to fight ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The SDF is a multi-ethnic force established in 2015 on the suggestion of the Coalition. It is dominated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).
The spokesman claims the US has not responded to Turkey’s increasingly frequent violations of the ceasefire.
“The stance of the Americans at the moment is unclear, for they have not said anything about the recent increase in attacks by Turkey,” he said. “We have given them data and information about the recent attacks by Turkey, even in areas where a ceasefire had been announced, but they have not given any significant response yet.”
Rudaw
