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The Kurds can no longer help the US in the fight against ISIS because they are facing Turkish attacks. General Mazloum Kobane Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said this in an interview with Fox News.

"We deliberately did not freeze the joint operations with the international coalition against ISIS," said Mazloum, "But, as I said, we have to stop this operation in motion, as we are experiencing tremendous stress due to a possible Turkish invasion of our territories."

After the terrorist attack in Istanbul on November 13, for which Turkey blames the Kurdish groups, it has started to attack Kurdish positions in northern Syria and Iraq.

General Mazloum said that the terrorist is from ISIS and condemned the attack. He warned that Turkey uses that incident as a pretext for ethnic cleansing of Kurds. Turkish warplanes struck a military base—which the US military shares with Kurdish militants—about 30 miles from the border in Qamishli, Syria.

General Mazloum called on the American people and the American government to protect the Kurds.

"I want the American people to show the same position that they showed in 2019, when we faced the Turkish attack again," he said. "Now we are again under the threat of ethnic cleansing by the Turks. And I ask the government and people of the United States to protect their Kurdish friends."

And in an interview with Axios , General Mazloum said that while he has received concerning intelligence that Turkey has told its local proxies to prepare for a ground offensive, the Biden administration could still convince Turkish President Erdogan to back off.

Mazloum said Turkey's strategy has been to announce an operation, conduct some preparations, then test the reactions of the U.S. and Russia.

"I believe once they [Turkey] see there is no strong opposition from the main players they will go ahead," Mazloum said. "We believe the reactions are not enough yet to stop the Turks from launching this operation."

Mazloum said the SDF is committed to preventing "escalation," but "if the fight does happen, our forces will defend themselves and their people until the last of us."

"This time the operation will not be limited and there will be chaos all along the border with Turkey," he warned.

"We believe that President Biden will fulfill his promises and protect the Kurds from ethnic cleansing in the region by the Turks, as he has promised during his presidential campaign," Mazloum said.

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