A web of unholy alliances: How the US has indirectly aided Ankara’s attempts to undermine the Kurds in Syria and Turkey

Turkey committed itself to conducting operations against Islamic State following a suicide bombing in the town of Suruç in July 2015. However, as Bill Park writes, the country has faced criticism over its decision to link operations to attacks carried out against Kurdish forces. He notes that the complex nature of Turkey’s involvement in the conflict has indirectly allied the United States with jihadi groups and helped facilitate the Turkish government’s attempts to undermine Kurdish organisations in Turkey and Syria.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Turkey’s war against the Kurds threatens to create turmoil both inside and outside the country http://www.europeansources.info/record/turkeys-war-against-the-kurds-threatens-to-create-turmoil-both-inside-and-outside-the-country/

Chatham House: Expert Comment, 26.10.15: Overextension by the Kurds Will Only Benefit ISIS https://www.chathamhouse.org/expert/comment/overextension-kurds-will-only-benefit-isis

Wikipedia: Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict (2013–present) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_Kurdish%E2%80%93Islamist_conflict_%282013%E2%80%93present%29

BBC News, 27.10.15: Turkey confirms shelling Kurdish fighters in Syria http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34645462

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