Damascus: The Syrian civil war, which has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands and uprooted almost half its population, will enter its 10th year in March. The conflict has since evolved into a complex issue involving several terrorist groups and foreign powers. Now, with a new U.S. administration whose Syria policy remains unclear in office, actors on the ground have been revising their positions while the number of terrorist attacks has increased substantially.
“With the incoming of the Joe Biden administration, we see that actors in Syria have started to revise their positions,” Can Acun, a foreign policy expert at the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA), told Daily Sabah. “Especially when we look at the PKK’s Syrian wing, the YPG, and the PYD’s moves, we observe that they have adopted a far more aggressive stance.”
Saying that the YPG has great expectations from the new U.S. administration and assumes engagement will strengthen, Acun pointed out that the terrorist group takes steps to extend its field of influence and acts on its own initiative, taking courage from the new administration.
“Terrorist attacks have gained momentum in areas controlled by Turkey,” Acun said, indicating that one reason for this is a new U.S. administration that includes names close to the terrorist group.
Car bombs killed at least 20 people last week in two separate incidents in terrorist attacks that took place in Syria’s northern Azaz, al-Bab and Afrin provinces. Moreover, an improvised explosive device (IED) strapped to a motorcycle exploded, killing two civilians and wounding two more on Jan. 26 in the northern Syrian border town of Tal Abyad, controlled by the Syrian opposition, while on Jan. 17 a bomb-laden vehicle exploded again in Azaz, killing at least one civilian and wounding six others. Two weeks before that another car bomb killed at least five near a vegetable market in Ras al-Ain. Though the U.S. condemned the trio of terrorist attacks last week, Washington failed to make any reference to the terrorists or review its relations with the group despite the fact that local security forces have blamed the YPG for the deadly assaults. Security sources speaking to Daily Sabah on the condition of anonymity stressed that the recent increase in terrorist attacks in regions controlled by Turkey and the Syrian National Army (SNA) were attempts at eroding trust to “prove” that Turkey and the SNA lack the ability to provide security in these areas. –Agencies
