Ankara Bombing Sparks Turkey to Increase Attacks Against Kurds

On Wednesday, February 17, 2016, a car bomb detonated besides a convoy transporting Turkish military personnel killing 28 and injuring another 61 in Ankara. The next morning another military convoy was attacked in Southeast Turkey killing six.

Soon after the bombings the Turkish government accused the Kurdish Democratic Union Party’s (PYD), a Syrian Kurd rebel group, military wing, the YPG, of being behind the attacks. The Turkish government alleges the bomber was Salih Necar, a Syrian national whom the Turkish government says had ties to the YPG.

Reuters spoke to a co-leader of PYD, Saleh Muslim, who denied any responsibility to the bombing. The Syrian Kurds have been heavily preoccupied with their fight in Syria, and have not, or have rarely, been involved in Turkey.

Soon after the attack, Turkey began bombing Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets in Northern Iraq. The PKK is a Turkish Kurd group designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and Turkey. The PKK also denied any claim to the attacks.

The PKK has been engaged in a brutal war with the Turkish government since 1984. The PKK has sought out an independent Kurdish state within Turkey, and the resulting conflict with the government has killed over 40,000 people. In 2013 a ceasefire was reached between the PKK and the Turkish government, but it was abandoned after the government began airstrikes against Kurdish positions in Iraq.

Turkey has been the target of recent bombings from not only Kurdish rebels, but also the Islamic State (IS). This past January, an IS suicide bomber killed ten in Istanbul’s historic district. The attack prompted Turkey to launch airstrikes against IS held territory in Iraq and Syria. Even though IS has been active recently, it does not seem they have been considered by the government as a possible suspect.

Four days ago Turkey began shelling YPG positions in Syria. The YPG has been close to controlling the Azaz corridor which would cut off the supply line from Turkey to Syrian rebels in Aleppo.

If the YPG are able to take control of Azaz it would unify Kurdish-held territory in Northern Syria and potentially provide access to the Mediterranean, making an autonomous Kurdish state all the more viable.

The Free Fire Blog discussed Turkey and Saudi Arabia considering entering ground troops in the Syrian war, and the recent bombings would provide impetus for Turkey to intervene more aggressively.

While Turkey openly opposes the Kurds in Syria, the U.S. and Russia has been aiding the Kurds fight against IS. The U.S. has provided military aid to the Syrian Kurds, while Russian airstrikes have paved the way for the Kurds to take rebel controlled territory.

The U.S. has called on the YPG and Turkey to halt hostilities to focus on IS, but it is unlikely Turkey will cease its shelling of YPG targets as long as Azaz is in danger.

The recent bombings have given the Turkish government an excuse to increase attacks on Syrian Kurds to protect its border region and attempt to forestall a Kurdish state. This increased aggression puts the U.S. in the difficult situation of whether to continue support of the YPG, who have been one of the most effective group against IS, despite hostilities from their NATO ally.