Islamic State: Kurdish forces threaten to stop guarding camps - BBC

Local forces successful north-east Syria person told the BBC that they whitethorn beryllium forced to wantonness camps holding Islamic State (IS) radical detainees.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said they nary longer person the capableness to defender the compounds if Turkey launched a caller crushed cognition there.

Turkey has attacked hundreds of targets successful the portion successful retaliation for a bombing successful Istanbul.

At slightest six radical were killed and dozens much were wounded successful the blast.

Turkey has blamed the bombing connected Kurdish separatists based successful bluish Syria.

The SDF - a mostly Kurdish militia confederation backed by the US - has denied immoderate engagement successful the attack, and has accused Turkey of utilizing it arsenic a pretext to warrant a long-planned cross-border offensive.

On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the strikes were "only the beginning" and that helium was determined to unafraid Turkey's borderline with Syria by establishing a "security corridor".

But the caput of the SDF, General Mazloum Abdi, has told the BBC that a crushed cognition would effect successful a resurgence of the IS panic group.

"It would pb to a 2nd civilian warfare successful Syria and our counter-terrorism operations against IS would stop," helium said. "As portion of the planetary coalition, we fought and defeated IS, and what Turkey is doing volition undermine each of it."

During the planetary run against the Islamic State group, the US relied heavy connected the Kurdish forces to basal retired the militants from Syria, and the SDF is inactive successful complaint of the prisons and detention camps that clasp suspected IS fighters and their families.

The largest of these makeshift facilities, lodging the families of suspected militants, is al-Hol. More than 50,000 radical unrecorded there, 2 thirds of whom are children.

The SDF said that a fig of Turkish aerial strikes targeted al-Hol. The onslaught killed 7 information officials liable for guarding the camp. Six overseas detainees escaped during the assault, but were aboriginal recaptured.

General Abdi has warned that further Turkish attacks would straight interaction his forces' quality to support clasp of these sites: "Our forces would beryllium engaged protecting our ain radical and families and we wouldn't beryllium capable to defender the camps."

"The Turkish authorities person targeted civilian facilities, services similar powerfulness stations, lipid accumulation facilities," helium added. "This volition pb to wide migration and internally displaced people."

Since 2016, the Turkish subject has launched 3 large-scale operations successful bluish Syria with the enactment of allied Syrian rebel groups, and it presently controls a swathe of territory moving on much than 325km (200 miles) of its border.

The astir caller operation, successful 2019, saw Turkey seizure the country betwixt the towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain, leaving the Kurdish-controlled portion of Kobane betwixt territory controlled either by Turkey oregon by Turkish-backed militia.

At the time, Russia brokered a ceasefire and patrols of Turkish and Russian troops were acceptable up to show the respect of the truce.

Now, Kurdish forces fearfulness Turkey's volition is to seizure Kobane. The SDF has called connected some the US and Russia to workout their powers to halt the Turkish offensive, informing it could destabilise the full portion and beyond.

"For 8 years we person been warring with the planetary assemblage against terrorism, we fought unneurotic to decision IS and present the attacks the Turkish authorities is carrying retired are undermining each of that," General Abdi says.

"The consequences of this volition beryllium truly atrocious not lone for america but for the world."