Senior U.S. officials say that Turkish forces and those of its militia allies are gathered along the border with Syria, raising concerns that Ankara is preparing for a large-scale invasion of territory held by US-backed Syrian Kurds, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday night.

The forces, including militia fighters, Turkish uniformed commandos and artillery in large numbers, are concentrated near Kobani, a Kurdish-majority city in Syria on the northern border with Turkey, the officials said.

One of the US officials said that a Turkish cross-border operation could be imminent.

The buildup, which began after the fall of the Assa regime, is similar to Turkish military steps before it invaded northeast Syria in 2019. “We are focused on it and pressing for restraint,” another of the U.S. officials said.

Ilham Ahmed, an official in the Syrian Kurds’ civilian administration, urged President-elect Donald Trump on Monday to pressure Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan not to invade Syria.

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,” Ahmed wrote to Trump in a letter viewed by The Wall Street Journal. “If Turkey proceeds with its invasion, the consequences will be catastrophic.”

U.S.-brokered cease-fire talks between the Syrian Kurds and Turkish-backed rebels in Kobani collapsed on Monday without a deal, according to a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces. The SDF is now seeing “significant military buildups” east and west of the city, the spokesman said.

“From across the border, we can already see Turkish forces amassing, and our civilians live under the constant fear of imminent death and destruction,” Ahmed wrote to Trump.

A Turkish invasion would displace more than 200,000 Kurdish civilians in Kobani alone, Ahmed warned Trump, along with many Christian communities.

“We believe you hold the power to prevent this catastrophe. President Erdogan has listened to you before, and we trust he will heed your call again,” Ahmed wrote. “Your decisive leadership can stop this invasion and preserve the dignity and safety of those who have stood as steadfast allies in the fight for peace and security.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)