Turkish support for Al Qaeda and ISIS in Syria has always been an open secret. Now it's an accepted fact
This post first appeared on Russia Insider
Yesterday, Turkish Prime Minister Davutoglu told Reuters that YPG fighters would have seized Azaz and Tal Rifaat if it had not been for Turkish artillery shelling. He failed to mention that these towns would have been liberated from Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda’s Syrian branch, Jabhat Al Nusra, shares control of Azaz with "moderate" FSA brigades. Davutoglu has effectively admitted that Turkey is protecting Al Qaeda.
This would not be the first time Turkey has had a direct hand in helping Al Qaeda take a Syrian town. In March 2014, Turkish president Erdogan provided direct air support to Jabhat Al Nusra as it took over the town of Kessab. In a blatant act of support for Al Qaeda, Erdogan brazenly shot down a Syrian Jet which was attempting to fire on Jabhat Al Nusra terrorists crossing in from the Turkish border. Kessab was a Syrian town inhabited by mostly Armenian diaspora, who had a century ago escaped genocide at the hands of Turkey.
In recent years, Turkey’s aid of Al Qaeda and ISIS in Syria has developed from an open secret to an accepted fact. In November, footage emerged of Turkish border guards leisurely conversing with ISIS militants in Kassab.
There is a deluge of evidence that Turkey is supplying ISIS with weapons via trucks driving through the border. US Vice President Joe Biden admitted that his Turkish ally was responsible for allowing ISIS into Syria. The statements were an attempt to deflect blame for ISIS away from the US and solely onto its allies. Russian president Putin also openly called out Erdogan as an ‘accomplice of terrorism’. Russia has previously revealed reconnaissance footage showing ISIS oil trucks smuggling Syrian oil into Turkey.
Davutoglu’s brazen statements further highlight the Turkish government's lack of respect for sovereignty and international law. Stating that Turkey will not allow Azaz to fall to Syrian Kurds, seemingly forgetting that Azaz is a Syrian town, exposes Turkey's true motives.
Syria’s Foreign Ministry sent several letters to the UN Secretary General and the Security Council complaining about the artillery shelling from Turkey. Violating the sovereignty of a UN member state is a breach of international law. However, the UN has ignored every violation of Syrian sovereignty to date, solidifying its impotence as a so-called organisation for world peace and diplomacy.
This post first appeared on Russia Insider
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