Arab League convenes emergency session to respond to Turkey’s offensive in Syria
The Arab League will hold an emergency meeting in Cairo today to discuss Turkey’s controversial offensive in northern Syria.
On Wednesday, Ankara launched airstrikes targeting Kurdish fighters and deployed ground troops around the border towns Ras Al-Ain and Tal Abyad following the withdrawal of US forces. Turkey states its incursion is aimed at depriving terrorists from establishing a presence along its southern border. However, Ankara has long been incensed by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF) strengthening of governing bodies in northeast Syria,fearful that an independent Kurdish state could cause unrest among Turkey’s own 14 million-strong Kurdish population.
The SDF in northern Syria have been key in the fight against ISIS, and now hold 12,000 ISIS fighters captive in the area. A significant assault on these forces could lead to the release of the ISIS fighters and threaten the group’s resurgence.
Today’s meeting in Cairo will likely result in a statement urging Ankara to withdraw its troops from northern Syria. If the prisoners escape, expect terror cells to emerge in the Middle East and the foreign fighters’ home countries.
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