Germany's AKK posits international zone in northern Syria
Ian P. Johnson
October 21, 2019
An internationally controlled zone inside northern Syria on its border with Turkey has been floated by Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. It follows Turkey's bid to drive out Kurdish fighters and resettle refugees.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kappeler
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Germany calls for international security zone in Syria
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German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told DW Monday she would discuss her plan on the sidelines of a NATO military alliance meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.
The plan had been coordinated with Chancellor Angela Merkel and submitted to Western allies, she added.
"My recommendation is that we establish an internationally controlled security zone in cooperation with Turkey and Russia," said Kramp-Karrenbauer, who is also head of Merkel's Christian Democratic (CDU) party.
"This security zone would seek to resume the fight against terror and against the 'Islamic State,' which has currently come to a standstill. It would also ensure that we stabilize the region so that rebuilding civilian life is once again possible, and so that those who have fled can also return voluntarily," said Kramp-Karrenbauer.
Erdogan, Putin in Sochi
Her plan comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent troops on October 9 to drive Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters out of an area along the border to Turkey, just days after US President Donald Trump declared a pullout of US troops who were backing Kurdish forces holding Islamic State captives.
The United Nations has estimated that at least 160,000 residents have been uprooted since the start of the Turkish offensive.
Erdogan on Tuesday is due to attend talks in Sochi, Russia, with President Vladimir Putin, whose forces inside Syria back those of President Bashar Assad. Tuesday also marks the expiry of a five-day pause in northern Syria mediated last week during a visit to Ankara by US Vice President Mike Pence.
Kramp-Karrenbauer stressed the need for Europe to take action. "But we can't only talk about this. Europe cannot simply be an onlooker. We also have to come up with our own recommendations and initiate discussions," the defense minister said.
She added that Germany should use its position as a nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council to create a basis for the internationally controlled security zone on the basis of existing UN resolutions.
Who are the major players in northern Syria?
The US withdrawal of troops from Kurdish-controlled northeast Syria and the launch of the Turkish offensive have created a complicated web of actors, from Russia to Syrian government troops.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS/Staff Sgt. A. Goedl
US: Troop pullback
Over the past years, US troops have supported Kurdish fighters as they battled radical "Islamic State" (IS) militants to take back control of large areas of northern Syria. In what was seen as a surprising turnaround, US President Donald Trump announced in early October that he was withdrawing US troops from the region's border with Turkey. This pullback left a vacuum for others to act and react.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS/Staff Sgt. A. Goedl
Turkey: Anti-Kurdish offensive
Trump's troop withdrawal was a de-facto go-ahead for Turkey to launch an offensive into northeast Syria. The region is home to a largely autonomous Kurdish population and Kurdish militants known as the YPG, who are tied to an outlawed Kurdish party in Turkey. Turkey, who has faced a Kurdish insurgency, sees the Syrian Kurds as a threat to its security, hence the military action.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/M. Akif Parlak
Kurdish YPG: Fighting Turkish forces
The YPG was one of the US' main allies in the fight to drive out IS from north Syria, but since October it has been fighting the Turkish forces that crossed into Syria. The YPG lacks strong air capabilities and defenses, putting it at a decided disadvantage in comparison to the Turkish army.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Souleiman
SDF: Betrayed by the US
The YPG is the largest component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which also includes Arab and Christian militias. The SDF, which fought IS, controls northeastern Syria and feels betrayed by the US pullback. It is now fighting Turkish troops and their allies. It has warned that the Turkish offensive could distract from making sure IS fighters do not renew their strength in Syria.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D. Souleiman
Syrian government army: Deal made
The relationship between Syrian President Bashar Assad's troops and the SDF is a tricky one that shifts between cooperation, live-and-let-live and skirmishes, depending on the current situation. After Turkey launched its offensive, the Kurds struck a deal with the government that saw Syrian troops mobilized to fight the Turkish forces, allowing them to enter a region they had ceded to the SDF.
Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot
Russia: Stepping up, stepping in
Russia has consistently backed the government of Syrian President Assad (L, with Putin in 2018) and assisted its forces. After US troops pulled out of the Kurdish areas, Russia moved its troops in to act as a buffer for Syrian government forces advancing towards the Turkish army. Moscow wants Syria to remain united and has accused the US of creating parallel structures in the Kurdish region.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Klimentyev
SNA: Turkey's Syrian allies
Turkey also has allies among Syrian fighters. The Syrian National Army (SNA), also known as the Free Syrian Army, is a Syrian rebel group that has fought against the SDF and Assad's government. Backed by Turkey, SNA fighters took part in previous Turkish offensives against Kurdish militias inside Syria. Currently, thousands of SNA fighters are fighting the YPG alongside Turkish forces.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/B. Kasim
IS: A renewed role?
One possible future actor is IS. While it was essentially defeated in March 2019, tens of thousands of its fighters and their families remain in prisons or guarded camps in the Kurdish area of the country. Nearly a thousand alone have already escaped from a camp that was caught in the fighting between Kurdish militias and Turkish forces. Should the situation grow more unstable, IS could regroup.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Alleruzzo
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Turkey 'cannot occupy permanently'
This solution, she said, should make it clear that Turkey could not occupy the zone in northeastern Syria permanently — a stance contrary to international law, she told German news agency dpa on Monday.
"This is first of all a proposal that I am making as party leader and as defense minister, Kramp-Karrenbauer told DW in its interview with her marking her 100 days in office. "I know it is a proposal that is supported by many defense and foreign-policy experts in my party," she added.
"Before going public with this recommendation, I informed the chancellor. This will definitely be discussed within the government."
On Sunday, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told German broadcaster ZDF television that Turkey's cross-border operation amounted to an "invasion" that was illegitimate under international law.
Earlier on Monday, CDU foreign policy expert Roderich Kiesewetter had suggested on public radio the creation of a humanitarian safe zone involving from 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers from EU nations, to be established in consultation with Turkey and Russia.
