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16 Oct, 2019 11:55

Turkish invasion creates better conditions for Islamic State terrorists as it creates chaos, Assad’s key adviser tells RT

Turkish invasion creates better conditions for Islamic State terrorists as it creates chaos, Assad’s key adviser tells RT

There is a risk of an Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) resurgence in Syria, and it is Turkey’s invasion of the northeast that should be blamed, Bouthaina Shaaban, a political adviser to Syrian President Bashar Assad, told RT.

“Every war creates chaos and chaos is a good climate for terrorism. So this invasion creates better climate for ISIS terrorists,” she said, referring to the terrorist group by its old name. “But the major force that is fighting for Turkey now are the Jabhat al-Nusra. So the terrorists are led by Turkey now to occupy part of the Syrian land.”

And from beginning it was Turkey, who allowed terrorists from all over the world to cross the border and fight this war against the Syrian people.

“We see them as an occupying force. They did not come by an invitation from the Syrian government. They had nothing to do on our land. And the reason they were here was to protect terrorists,” Shaaban said.

A resurgence of Islamic State was named as one possible unintended consequence of Turkey’s military incursion in the border area controlled by Kurdish militias. The Kurds warned they won’t be able to continue holding jihadist fighters captured over the previous years and fight against Turkey.

Also on rt.com ‘Show of force’: US jets & helicopters threaten Turkish-backed fighters who came VERY CLOSE to American troops in Syria

As the Turkish operation unfolded, Kurds turned to Damascus. Shaaban said the government she serves will gladly help despite their previous siding with the United States, a nation that Syria considers a major source of instability that it had to deal with over the past eight years.

The Kurds are part and parcel of our society. As you know, Syria has many ethnicities, many [religious sects]… The government has always been trying to ask [the Kurds] to cooperate, to help defend our borders. And during this war we supplied [some of the] Kurds with weapons and they fought alongside with the Syrian Army against terrorism.

The US stated goal in Syria was to defeat Islamic State. Kurdish militias assisted by American warplanes and artillery, played a key role in capturing Raqqa, a provincial capital that served as a de facto capital of the jihadist group in Syria. The Kurds also expanded outside of their historical territory and took pretty much the entire region east of the Euphrates River, including a valuable oil field, before the Syrian government could do it.

Speaking about the ongoing Turkish operation, Shaaban said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan should take a warning from Syria’s history, which did not forgive occupiers.

“Over 10,000 years many invaders came were buried in our land. We, the Syrians, remain the masters of country,” she said.

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