US warns Turkey over attacks on North and East Syria

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following Turkey’s extensive bombardment campaign of vital civilian infrastructure and security personnel in North and East Syria, the administration of US President Joe Biden White House criticized Turkey in an Executive Order extending the US mission in Syria.

In the Executive Order, the White stated:

The situation in and in relation to Syria, and in particular the actions by the Government of Turkey to conduct a military offensive into northeast Syria, undermines the campaign to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, endangers civilians, and further threatens to undermine the peace, security, and stability in the region, and continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller stated the US concern about the consequences of the increasing Turkish escalation, stressing the US’s continuous support for a ceasefire.

Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in the US House of Representatives Michael McCaul (R-TX-10) confirmed the need not to target civilian and vital facilities in North and East Syria.

Reports by Bloomberg and Al-Monitor highlighted the consequences of the intensive Turkish strikes against North and East Syria.

The strikes are straining relations between Turkey and the US, reported Bloomberg, indicating that the targeted Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) played a key role in the US-led efforts to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS).

Al-Monitor stated that shooting down a Turkish drone in North and East Syria by the US forces weakens the possibility of a potential Turkish ground operation in those areas.

It indicated that the shooting down was a warning message to Turkey.