Kurd Separatists or Islamic State: Who is Turkey’s Actual Target?

It looked like good news in the beginning, but the reality on the ground turned out to be different.

The recent security arrangements between the United States and Turkey over the Turkish-Syrian borders implied that Ankara would finally become involved in the efforts of the Washington-led coalition combating the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

To the contrary, Turkey became engrossed in a re-emerging conflict against the Kurds, posing doubts —according to analysts and academics — about its seriousness in fighting the IS militants, and, furthermore, jeopardising its internal “peace.”

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“So far, the bulk of the Turkish strikes have targeted Kurdish forces,” Aykan Erdemir, ex-Turkish parliamentarian of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), told Ahram Online.

Erdemir believes that Turkey's fight against the Islamic State is a pretence for ending the peace process and targeting Kurdish factions. He added that Turkish efforts against Sunni extremists “will remain half-hearted as long as Erdogan has the upper hand in Turkish politics.”

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Yet, he said, the HDP is itself  in a tough situation. The pro-Kurdish party , Meral said, is “caught in the cross fire” between Turkey and the PKK, as it fails to please both the PKK supporters and “more democratic peace driven voters.”

Describing it as a “dangerous game,” Erdemir emphasised that Erdogan is “playing the nationalist card” and pushing for snap elections, although the AKP-CHP talks for government formation are still ongoing.

“He thinks that the escalation of violence against the Kurds could help the AKP consolidate the Turkish-nationalist votes, while also costing the pro-Kurdish HDP its non-Kurdish supporters,” Erdemir concluded. 

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