Five days after the start of the Turkish offensive on northern Syria, the Syrian army will send troops to "confront aggression". Frédéric Encel, geopolitologist and director of the French Institute of Geopolitics, comments on Europe 1 this explosive situation.

INTERVIEW

Syrian state media on Sunday announced sending troops to northern Syria to "confront Turkish aggression." Turkey has been conducting an offensive against the Kurds for five days in order to conquer a territory intended to accommodate more than 2 million Syrian refugees. Frédéric Encel, geopolitologist and director of the French Institute of Geopolitics, decrypts on Europe 1 a situation that becomes more than explosive.

France has a "fundamental" role to play

Emmanuel Macron, in the wake of the Syrian announcement to send troops, spoke. The French head of state believes that this situation may create "an unsustainable humanitarian situation." He called a small defense council Sunday night. "This is very good from Macron, there is a risk of destabilization of the whole region, we have about a hundred men and equipment in this area, then there is the threat of the return of Hundreds of radical Islamists who were captured by Kurdish forces, these people may be tempted to return to their country of origin and for some, they are French, "commented Frédéric Encel.

For the geopolitologist, France has a "fundamental" role to play. "It may involve sending hundreds more to mean that Turkey can not do what it wants but it can also go through economic and commercial retaliation."

"Ethnic cleansing is being played out"

The sending of Syrian troops to the north of the country creates an explosive situation. Frédéric Encel believes that "this is only the beginning, there is a risk that it will hit even more in the coming weeks". He goes on to say: "The Kurds are resisting and this is an extremely clear expansionist aim of Turkey, beyond its legal border.The Turkish government fears like the plague the creation of a large Kurdish entity".

Finally, for the geopolitologist, "ethnic cleansing is being played out". "If the Turks seek to drive the Kurds out of these territories and place 2 to 3 million Syrian refugees there, essentially Arabs, this is exactly what will be called ethnic cleansing in international law. is extremely serious, it is about war crimes and potentially crimes against humanity ".