Turkey finds lack of US-led coalition air support to free al-Bab unacceptable

With the close-range fight continuing between the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and Daesh terrorists in the northern Syrian city of al-Bab as part of the Turkish military-led Operation Euphrates Shield, the international anti-Daesh coalition's lack of air support has raised questions about the real intention of the coalition as it drags its feet in the operation. Presidential spokesperson İbrahim Kalın slammed the coalition and said that it was unacceptable that the international coalition was refusing to give any air support to the al-Bab anti-Daesh operation.

"The international coalition must carry out its duties regarding aerial support and the battle we are fighting in al-Bab. Not giving the necessary support is unacceptable," Kalın said on Monday. "The operations in Turkey and Syria are not aimed at our Kurdish brothers and sisters. Turkey is the only NATO country fighting against three terrorist organizations," he added. Kalın also said that Turkey has agreed with the U.S. that the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and local forces would participate in the offensive to liberate Raqqa from Daesh terrorists and that a joint commission has traveled to Manbij to prevent a fait accompli.

Without establishing a legal form of government able to both preserve territorial integrity and represent all segments of society, the end of this war or the establishment of a sustainable government in Syria will not be possible, Spokesperson Kalın stated.

The operation in al-Bab is considered crucial to defeat Daesh in Northern Syria and to conduct an operation in Raqqa, but due to the lack of international support, the operation has taken much longer than expected.

Commenting on the matter, retired military officer and security specialist Abdullah Ağar underlined that Turkey's fight against Daesh in Operation Euphrates Shield is not creating the result that Western countries desired and that is why the international coalition is not providing air support.

"The U.S. and Western countries used Daesh as an excuse to intervene in Syria and Iraq. It's obvious that their intervention caused more ethnic and sectarian fragmentation both in Iraq and Syria than helped to defeat Daesh," Ağar said.

"Even though Turkey continues the most effective fight against Daesh, the country does not get enough support from its allies, because Turkey's intervention weakened Daesh and prevented the formation of a Kurdish corridor in Syria; these results are not what Western countries desired," he added.

Professor Dr. Mesut Hakkı Caşın from Özyeğin Üniversity underlined that Turkey's allies left Turkey alone in its fight against Daesh contrary to the principles alliance.

"Fighting against terrorism is wide-ranging work and requires an international effort, thus lack of support to Turkey in this fight also goes against international law," Caşın said.

Describing Operation Euphrates Shield as the most strategic move Turkish army has made since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Dr. Caşın stressed that Turkey prevented the formation of a terror corridor in its southern borders with this operation.

"The U.S. and international coalition forces have been fighting against Daesh for almost two years, but you cannot see major military success when you look on the ground. In contrast, Turkey gained strategic victories in the last three months, like the liberation of Dabiq," Caşın said.

"The U.S. has no excuse to support the PYD and YPG if Daesh is defeated. They don't want to lose this excuse, which allows them to intervene in the Middle East," he added.

Turkey has classified Daesh as a terrorist organization since 2013 and the country is an active member of the international coalition against the group. Turkish authorities have been cracking down on Daesh and al-Nusra terrorists within Turkey's borders as well as outside of the country. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu recently said that 4,874 people have been detained and 1,817 of them arrested, as part of the fight against terrorist organizations. In addition, Daily Sabah learned from diplomatic sources that Turkey has deported 3,700 foreign terrorist fighters (FTF) and put more than 52,000 names on the no entry list since the Syrian civil war started in 2011 as part of its efforts to fight terror. The sources also stated that the Risk Analysis Units founded by the Turkish National Police at airports have prevented the entry of more than 3,200 people with FTF-related suspicions since spring 2014. The changes to these figures subsequent to the intensification of the counter-Daesh military campaign are unknown. Since 2014, the estimates of the total number of FTFs from more than 100 countries for Daesh range from 15,000 to 40,000 by different sources.

In addition, Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield nearly four months ago within an aim to clear its borders from Daesh and other terrorist organizations. So far 1940 square kilometers have been cleared of terror threats. Defense Minister Fikri Işık said last week that 1,005 Daesh terrorists have been killed during the operation.