Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his cabinet, "A new era has begun in Syria... Turkey has shown what kind of will it has to protect its survival and security. If it comes to that again, 'we may come suddenly one night'. The circle is narrowing for the separatist organization and its extensions in Syria. As the government and the alliance, we will achieve our goal of a terror-free Turkey, one way or another. Of course, we hope this will happen safely. If this road is blocked and dynamited, then we will not hesitate to strike with the iron fist of the state wrapped in velvet gloves."
Erdogan wants to eliminate the SDF, the armed wing of the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration in Syria.
Ankara views the US- supported SDF as terrorists with links to the PKK, who have killed 30,000 over decades of terrorism. Now that Erdogan has a willing partner in Damascus, Ahmed Sharaa, the commander of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Erdogan sees a window of opportunity to eliminate the threat of the SDF while using HTS as a proven fighting force.
Erdogan has promised his people that he will return millions of Syrian refugees amid a growing public resentment. However, many Syrians have been living in Turkey for more than a decade and have become accustomed to civil, minority, and women's rights in the secular nation. With news reports of the new Sharaa administration using Islamic law as the civil code, and a history of oppression of women in Idlib under HTS, Syrians are reluctant to go home to a country without democracy, after experiencing the highly developed secular democracy in Turkey.
Initially, the Syrian community abroad have been overjoyed that the corrupt dictator, Bashar al-Assad, was driven from power by HTS on December 8, but now many are wondering how can they go home to a country without adequate electricity, schools and hospitals? Many are saying they will wait a few years to see if the infrastructure can be repaired, and if a secular democratically elected government can be formed.
Experts worry that if Syrians don't go home from Turkey, the Turkish citizens may say "Syria is safe. Why don't you return?"
For many years, the Turkish locals have turned violent against the Syrian refugees, whom they view as taking away jobs from locals, and causing a negative effect on the economy by draining away benefits for refugees.
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