
Turkey has been recently building up troops on its border with Syria, causing US officials to fear that Ankara is planning a major invasion into territories controlled by the US-backed Kurds.
Senior US officials told the Wall Street Journal on Monday night that the Turkish forces on the border include militia fighters, Turkish uniformed commandos, and a large force of artillery.
The troop buildup is concentrated near Kobani, a Kurdish-majority city in Syria on the northern border with Turkey.
The officials said that the invasion could be imminent and the current troop buildup appears similar to Turkish military moves ahead of its 2019 invasion of northeast Syria.
An official in the Syrian Kurds’ civilian administration, sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump on Monday urging him to press Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan not to send troops across the border.
The official noted that Turkey’s goal is to “establish de facto control over our land before you take office, forcing you to engage with them as rulers of our territory. If Turkey proceeds with its invasion, the consequences will be catastrophic.”