Reports: Turkey organizing Sunni fighters for ‘proxy war’ against Syria
Special to WorldTribune.com
ANKARA — Turkey is preparing for a proxy war with Syria.
Turkish sources and local media reports said the government of Prime Minister Recep
Erdogan has approved the mobilization of proxies to fight Syrian President
Bashar Assad.
A senior member of the Turkish Parliament said recently that Ankara is arming and supporting armed groups fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The sources said Ankara would employ Sunni fighters from both Syria
as well as the region to oust Assad in 2012.
“The Turkish intelligence community has begun to invest heavily into
improving the sabotage capability of Sunni rebels,” a Turkish source said.
The sources said Turkey has already launched several steps to
significantly enhance the Sunni rebels. They cited the establishment of a de facto Turkish buffer zone along the border with Syria, training Sunni rebels, particularly the Free Syrian Army, and expanding the flow of weapons and fighters into northeastern Syria.
“Turkey is trying to organize a proxy war by bringing out Syrian
opposition groups,” Turkish analyst Nihat Ali Ozcan said. “However, Turkey is at the first step and its task is difficult.”
Ozcan, in an analysis published in the Turkish daily Hurriyet on July 5, said the proxy war between Ankara and Damascus could last for a long time.
He envisioned intervention by Iran and its Kurdish allies, particularly the
Kurdish Workers Party, in an effort to destabilize Turkey.
“During this period, Syria is busy,” Ozcan said. “It might plan to use
the PKK, which is Turkey’s Achilles heel, or might plan to trigger sectarian
Marxist organizations, which had strong ties during the Cold War with the
Syrian intelligence service. Moreover, by getting the support of Iran, it
would not be a surprise if it motivated some radical religious groups.”
The sources said the Assad regime as well as Iran have been mobilizing
hundreds of Kurds to infiltrate Turkey for insurgency strikes. They said
Turkish authorities were on alert for suspected agents of the Assad regime.
In late June, authorities arrested two Syrians who arrived on a
flight from Damascus to Istanbul. The Syrians were said to have traveled
with a large number of satellite phones, radios and tools for
communications.
The sources said Russia was expected to help Assad in the proxy war
against Turkey. They said the Kremlin could help the Damascus regime with
technology meant to target strategic sites while remove any trace of Syrian
involvement.
“We know the Russians have a long history of terrorism, and they have
always been close to the PKK,” the Turkish source said.
