With Turkey focused on long-term goals in Syria that involve continuing to oppose Kurdish autonomy in the northeast, there are growing numbers of reports from Turkish officials that plans are being considered to establish new military bases inside Syrian territory.
Details are still emerging on what this might look like, and thousands of Turkish soldiers are already reported to be operating on Syrian soil, mostly targeting the Kurdish SDF. Turkey has recently threatened invasion if the new Islamist government of Syria doesn’t eliminate the SDF.
The Islamists, the al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has given multiple statements rejecting the idea of Kurdish autonomy. Turkish FM Hakan Fidan says the new HTS ruler of Syria is taking a firm stance against Kurdish “terrorists.”
That the HTS is largely giving Turkey whatever they want with respect to Kurdish territory doesn’t necessarily mean Turkey won’t seek to increase its presence in the country. The Turkish Defense Ministry, however, has denied any specific plans for bases at this time, suggesting talk of new bases may be premature.
In the meantime, the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) continues to attack SDF territory, and Turkish warplanes and drones are attacking Kurdish towns and cities. In the Raqqa Governorate, almost exclusively SDF territory, activists are increasingly critical of Turkish aggression.
Fighting on the ground with the SNA is still mostly further west than Raqqa, in the Aleppo Governorate. In recent weeks, the focus has been on trying to take the Tishreen Dam, and Kurdish protesters have been rally at the dam calling for international intervention to prevent the Turkish destruction of it. Tishreen Dam is a key source of fresh water and electricity for northeastern Syria.
Turkey has carried out multiple airstrikes against Tishreen Dam, and targeted the protesters rallying at the dam. They targeted those protesters again on Thursday, injuring an unknown number of them.
