Whose Rebels Will Fight for Raqqa Deepens U.S.-Turkey Divisions
- U.S. says it must move on Syrian city as Mosul fight continues
- Kurdish forces are part of U.S. plan over Turkey’s opposition
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speak at the State Department in Washington on March 28, 2016.
With the battle for the Iraqi city of Mosul barely begun, the U.S. and its allies say they need to move within weeks on the other remaining Islamic State stronghold, Raqqa in Syria. The trouble is that no one can agree on who should do the actual fighting.
The U.S. commander of the campaign against Islamic State says the only group capable and ready for such a battle is the Syrian Democratic Forces, made up largely of Kurdish fighters. Turkey, however, wants to keep the Kurds out of the fight to prevent them from connecting their autonomous areas in Syria. It’s backing a separate Syrian rebel group, the Free Syrian Army’s Brigade 51, which says it will be on the march soon.