Russia and America express their concern about a possible attack
Turkish forces are preparing for an "imminent" ground operation in Syria
Syrian Kurdish demonstrators protesting Turkey's threats to their region in northeastern Syria.
A.F.B
Turkish officials said that the army needs only a few days to be ready for a ground incursion into northern Syria, while Russia and America have expressed concern about a possible attack.
This comes at a time when the Turkish forces are bombing Kurdish armed factions across the border.
Howitzers fired daily from Turkey have been bombing targets of the Kurdish People's Protection Units for a week, while warplanes have been carrying out air strikes.
The escalation follows a deadly bombing in Istanbul two weeks ago that Ankara blamed on the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).
The Kurdish group has denied responsibility for the attack and has at times responded to cross-border attacks with mortar bombs.
“The Turkish armed forces need only a few days to become almost fully ready,” said a senior official, adding that the Turkish-allied Syrian armed opposition had prepared for such an operation a few days after the November 13 Istanbul bombing.
"It won't take long for the process to start," he said.
It just depends on the President (Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan) issuing the order.”
Turkey has previously carried out military incursions into Syria against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which it considers an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Turkey, the United States and the European Union classify as a terrorist group.
The PKK also denied carrying out the Istanbul attack, which killed six in a crowded pedestrian street.
Erdogan said Turkey would launch a ground operation at the appropriate time to secure its southern border.
Another Turkish official, who also asked not to be named, told Reuters: “All preparations are complete.
Now the matter awaits the political decision.”
Erdogan had announced in May that Turkey would soon launch a military operation against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria, but such an operation did not materialize at that time.
The first Turkish official said that a ground operation targeting the areas of Manbij, Ayn al-Arab and Tal Rifaat has become inevitable to link the areas that came under the control of Turkey and its Syrian allies with the areas that were captured during the 2016 incursions. The official added that Ankara had contacted Moscow and Washington regarding its military activities.
The United States told Turkey, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), that it had serious concerns that the military escalation would affect the goal of combating the extremist organization "ISIS" in Syria.
Russia asked Turkey to refrain from launching an all-out ground offensive.
Russia supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the country's 11-year war, while Turkey supports the rebels fighting to overthrow him.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Defense said that the Turkish army succeeded in "neutralizing" 14 fighters from the Kurdish People's Protection Units who were preparing to launch attacks in areas of Syria under Turkish control.
The Ministry usually uses this term to refer to the dead.
The ministry said on Saturday that three Turkish soldiers were killed in northern Iraq, where the army has been conducting an operation against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) since April.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, who traveled to the border area with Iraq, was reported to have told military commanders on Sunday that Turkey would "complete" the mission.
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