The United States is monitoring Turkey from the bases it established in Syria. More than half of the 22 bases the U.S. has in the region are located close to Turkey’s border. Despite this, Washington has denied having military bases in such positions.
Just days after conducting joint patrols with Turkey in Syria’s Manbij, U.S. forces carried out a patrol with the Syrian Democratic Forces near the Turkish border in Syria’s Hasakah.
The SDF is dominated by the YPG militia, which is the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Photographs emerged that showed terrorists wearing uniforms marked with a picture of Abdullah Öcalan, the ringleader of the PKK.
Washington's new special envoy to Syria and former Ankara ambassador James Jeffrey said on Wednesday that the U.S.'s position on the PKK was "clear" and that it did not classify the YPG as a terror organization like the PKK.
The U.S. has three bases in Manbij, and a total of 22 bases across Syria. There are also reports that the U.S. established an electronic radar system in Kobani and al-Hasakah.
Washington is also able to utilize the airspace as it has military runways close to Turkey’s southern border. These runways are in Sarrin, Tell Beydar and Rimeylan.
Refueling routes used by the U.S. are also located close to Turkey’s border. The U.S. has seven supply routes in the south-north direction.
Turkey has expressed its concern regarding the U.S.’s steps in the region on various global platforms.
“Turkey does not have a plan against the U.S., but its clear that the U.S. has a plan against Turkey. Why would these arms come to the region? Who will they be used against?” Erdoğan previously asked.
The U.S has supplied the PYD terror organization and its armed wing, the YPG, with more than 5,000 truckloads of weapons to allegedly use in the fight against Daesh, despite Ankara’s warnings that they are the Syrian offshoots of the PKK terror organization.
Despite Daesh being positioned toward Syria’s south, the U.S. continues to remain in Syria’s north, close to Turkey’s border.
