ISTANBUL — Turkey sees signs of ethnic cleansing by both Kurdish and militant groups as they fight for control of parts of northern Syria, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said late on Monday. Syrian Kurdish-led forces captured the town of Tel Abyad on the Turkish border on Monday from Daesh (the so-called IS), driving the militants away in an advance backed by US-led air strikes. Turkey is uncomfortable with the gains by Kurdish militia in Syria, fearing it could inflame separatist sentiment among its own Kurdish minority. “We see that there are signs pointing towards a kind of ethnic cleansing,” Arinc told reporters at a briefing following a cabinet meeting, identifying those involved as both the Kurdish YPG forces and Daesh. “We see signs that work is being done on a formula to bring in other elements and combine cantons,” he said, referring to two regions controlled by Kurdish forces in northern Syria. President Tayyip Erdogan has voiced concern about the latest YPG-led offensive, saying Kurds were taking over areas from which Arabs and Turkmen were being displaced. He has accused the West of backing what he called Kurdish terrorists and has said the outcome could eventually threaten Turkey's border. The capture of Tel Abyad by the YPG and smaller Syrian rebel groups means the Syrian Kurds effectively control some 400 km (250 miles) of the Syrian-Turkish border that has been a conduit for foreign fighters joining Daesh. The fighting near the border has forced more than 18,000 people to cross into Turkey from Syria, aid workers say. A further 5,000 are believed to have crossed on Monday, according to a Reuters photographer at the scene. The border area was quiet on Tuesday, with some people who fled into Turkey expected to start crossing back into Syria after the Daesh fighters fled the area. — Reuters
