Are Turkish troops trapped at Syrian tomb?
In questo momento un dibattito critico infuria in Turchia riguardo il distaccamento di forze speciali turche (TSF) dislocate a circa 20 miglia all'interno della Siria per custodire la tomba di Suleiman Shah, un enclave turca extraterritoriale. La discussione è stata alimentata dal dibattito parlamentare di autorizzare l'invio di truppe turche in Iraq e la Siria.
Actually, the tomb has been on the agenda since March, when then-Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu (now
prime minister) referred to the escalating civil war in Syria and
declared that Turkey wouldn’t hesitate to take any measure needed for
the security of the tomb that was
marked as Turkish territory by the 1921 Turkey-France border accord.
Turkey indeed took some measures. On March 14, relatively
inexperienced Turkish conscripts guarding the tomb were entirely
replaced by about 50 to 60 combat-proven elite troops of the Turkish
Special Forces Command, all experienced in anti-terror operations. After
that rotation of troops, Davutoglu said, “For the time being, there is
no question of a transgression against our troops at the tomb. The tomb
is considered Turkish territory. Should there be such a threat, we are
ready with all necessary measures. Our public should have no worries. We
have completed all our preparations for any eventuality.”
This TSF detachment has been serving at the tomb the past
6½ months. But the situation has radically changed in the last 10 days,
after the release of Turkish hostages by the Islamic State (IS), the
IS assault against Kobani and clashes that broke out between IS and the
Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) forces in the vicinity of the
tomb. Since the end of July, the Turkish detachment has lost contact
with local elements that had been providing it with logistics and
intelligence. TSF personnel have been guarding the tomb under extremely
difficult, high-risk conditions with limited electricity, water and food
supplies. The Turkish news media have woken up and begun to question
the safety of these 50 to 60 Turkish fighters equipped with light
weapons.
According to some media reports quoting a Washington Post report by
Ishaan Tharoor, IS has laid siege to the tomb and even
took hostage
some Turkish Special Forces personnel. On Sept. 30, Yeni Safak, a
pro-government daily, reported on its front page that IS has deployed
more than 1,000 militants around the tomb and cut the possible evacuation routes.
Although the chief of Turkey's General Staff quickly denied the report that Turkish soldiers had been taken hostage, the
public and families
of the military personnel at the tomb do not appear to be satisfied
with the denials and have been asking why those Turkish soldiers have
not been evacuated.
Security observers who have been following the developments
in Syria closely have some interesting allegations. They say the
General Staff has requested the government multiple times in the last
four months to evacuate the tomb. But high-level decision-makers of the
government denied such requests on grounds that “the tomb is a part of
Turkish soil.” As a result, the tomb, which could have been evacuated as
part of the hostage exchange, was totally ignored. Families of TSF
personnel are said to have watched with bitter smiles the
political show staged by government leaders with the freed
Mosul hostages and their happy families.
Relevant security observers are seeking answers to these questions:
- Why are TSF personnel at the tomb still not evacuated when every passing day is working against them?
- Are decision-makers thinking of using a murderous attack against
TSF personnel as a pretext to further sink Turkey in the Syrian morass?
What is the reason behind the political intransigence against evacuating
the tomb?
- Are the weapons, equipment and supplies of the TSF at the tomb
enough to withstand an attack? Are there heavy weapons and armored
vehicles adequate to defend the tomb? Are plans made to evacuate and to
reinforce the tomb ready? Have they been rehearsed? In case of an
attack, can the tomb be evacuated or reinforced in time?
According to a security expert who knows the area
intimately, Turkey has three options for the tomb. The first is to
continue without any changes, the second is temporary evacuation of the
guard detachment and the third is to reinforce the tomb unit with
armored forces. The expert thinks the government is not in favor of
evacuation or reinforcement. The Turkish government insisting on keeping
50 to 60 lightly armed troops despite increasing risks has no problem
of capability. There must a strategic thought behind their decision.
What then is the reason for keeping those 50 to 60 soldiers facing such risks and not opting for evacuation or reinforcement?
Observers familiar with the issue claim that the TSF
detachment was not evacuated during the bargaining for hostages on Sept.
19 and kept as a security deposit for IS, as
Henri Barkey wrote last week.
But the security expert says that this is a shallow argument and that
the issue is more profound. The Turkish government, by maintaining the
TSF personnel at the tomb, is keeping the Turkish army in check while
using the presence of the troops at the tomb to justify intervention in
Syria. After the parliamentary debate this week to authorize the
government to intervene in Syria, the Turkish government will certainly
use the security of the tomb and the soldiers guarding it as a valid
pretext for strategic moves such as creating a safety zone and "no-fly"
zone in Syria.
It is also not far-fetched to say that the government, by saying “the
Tomb of Suleiman Shah is part of Turkish soil,” is trying to capitalize
on the growing sentiments of nationalism in the country and thus obtain
the support of a majority of the population.
In short, the tomb is needed by the Turkish government to keep the
army in check and to motivate it to enter Syria; to obtain support of
the public after the parliamentary approval; and, finally, to better
defend in the international arena its justification for intervening in
Syria. The government has no intention of evacuating the tomb before the
Syrian campaign expected in late October.
It is obvious that such a small number of Turkish troops, no matter
how well they are trained, cannot resist IS indefinitely. The chief of
General Staff and the TSF command are burning the midnight oil to
persuade political decision-makers to decide on evacuation. But the
political calculus of the government contradicts these efforts. The risk
the government is taking, however, is a major one. If not properly
managed and if calculations are not made correctly, the fate of 50 to 60
Turkish soldiers at the tomb can cast dark shadows on the “
New Turkey” ideal of the Davutoglu government.
Source: al-monitor.com
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