Turkey Vows Fresh Syrian Offensive If US-Backed Kurdish Group Fails to Disband

Ankara will do ‘whatever is necessary’ to ensure that the YPG is eradicated in Syria, Turkey’s foreign minister said.

A fighter of the Syrian Democratic Forces stands atop a Humvee in Syria's northeastern Al-Hasakah province on Sept. 7, 2022. Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey will launch a fresh military offensive in Syria against the Kurdish YPG militant group if the latter fails to disband and lay down its arms, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said.

“The ultimatum we gave them is clear,” Fidan said in remarks cited by Turkey’s Anadolu news agency on Jan. 8. “We’ve delivered it through the Americans and the media.