US general told Turkey of concerns about airstrikes in Syria, Iraq

A fighter from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) visits the site of Turkish airstrikes near northeastern Syrian Kurdish town of Derik on April 25. (AFP)

BERLIN: The top US military officer in Europe raised concerns about Turkish airstrikes in Syria and Iraq during a meeting last week with Ankara’s chief of general staff in Turkey, a US official said on Tuesday.
Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti told Gen. Hulusi Akar last Friday that the strikes were not properly coordinated with the US and its allies in their fight against Daesh, a spokesman for US European Command told Reuters.
US military officials said last week that Turkey gave the US-led coalition less than an hour of advance notice about the airstrikes, an insufficient amount of time to ensure the safety of coalition forces on the ground.
“I can tell you Gen. Scaparrotti did express his concern about recent airstrikes conducted by Turkey in northern Syria and northern Iraq without proper coordination with the US and coalition,” Capt. Danny Hernandez said. “No more details will be provided in order to keep the discussions private.”
Turkey remains a strategic ally of the US and a vital partner in the fight against violent extremist organizations, added Hernandez, who is based in Stuttgart, home of the US European Command.
A Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman said the partners had been informed through both military and diplomatic channels.
Russia has also criticized the airstrikes, which it said violated fundamental principles of intergovernmental relations.
The airstrikes are part of Turkey’s widening campaign against groups linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency against Turkey for Kurdish autonomy and are also fighting in Syria and Iraq.
On Tuesday of last week, Turkish planes bombed Kurdish targets in Iraq’s Sinjar region and northeast Syria, killing about 70 militants, according to a Turkish military statement.
The airstrikes in Syria targeted the YPG, a key component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are backed by the US and have been closing in on Daesh’s bastion of Raqqa.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said after those strikes that Washington had expressed its concerns to the government of Turkey, saying they “were not approved by the coalition and had led to the unfortunate loss of life of our partner forces” in the fight against Daesh.
Turkish warplanes then hit Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq the following day, killing six militants, the Turkish military said.