‘Weapons, Troops Near Syria…’ Turkey ‘Plans Attack’ On Kurd-Held Kobane, Face Off With US Imminent?

Turkey and its militia allies are building up forces along the border with Syria, the Wall Street Journal reports citing unnamed senior US officials. The move has raised alarm that Ankara is preparing for a large-scale incursion into territory held by US-backed Syrian Kurds, WSJ report adds.
Turkey has concentrated a large number of forces including militia fighters and uniformed commandos as well as artillery near Kobani, US officials added. Kobani is a Kurdish-majority city in Syria on the northern border with Turkey. A Turkish cross-border operation could be imminent, one of the US officials told the WSJ.
The buildup, which began after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime, appears similar to Turkish military moves ahead of its 2019 invasion of northeast Syria. “We are focused on it and pressing for restraint,” the WSJ quoted another unnamed US official as saying.
This comes as the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Dec. 17 accused Ankara of plotting an attack on Kobani.

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