Turkey expects swift campaign against US-backed Kurds in Syria

Turkish prosecutors have launched an investigation into unverified photos shared on social media claimed to have been taken in Afrin, purportedly showing that the offensive inflicted civilian injuries, TRT state broadcaster reported.

France called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to discuss the developments there and urged Turkish authorities “to act with restraint in a context where the humanitarian situation is deteriorating in several regions of Syria“.

He does not seem to have taken on board that this was wholly predictable since his words would anger Russia, Syria and Iran but, most importantly, would have an even more explosive impact on Turkey. Turkey now joins Iraq, whom first went to War with Kurdish residents/dissidents after they held a referendum vote to separate from the country/Government of Iraq in September of 2017.

The Kurdish-led SDF are a key part of the USA -led coalition’s fight against Daesh (IS) in Syria and are now taking part in a training program for a border security force in the country’s north. It called for restraint from “both sides”. “And Turkey has legitimate security concerns”, says US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. “Now, we see how the YPG. are fleeing in Afrin”, Erdogan said.

“We hear and take seriously Turkey’s legitimate security concerns and are committed to working with Turkey as a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally”, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at a news conference.

Baysal was detained in connection with her tweets calling for peace and condemning Ankara’s offensive, the New York-based rights group said late on Monday quoting her lawyer.

“We have always been telling the Americans and Russians that this terror organisation has been using both these powers”. There were now no clashes between Turkish forces and the YPG, “only skirmishes” at the edge of the Afrin region, according to Rojhat Roj, a YPG spokesman in Afrin.

On Saturday, Turkish jets bombed the Syrian city of Afrin.

The YPG said Afrin had already been reinforced in anticipation of the Turkish offensive, and there were discussions over whether to send more reinforcements from other YPG-held territory, which is separated from Afrin by areas held by Syrian government forces.

Turkish towns in Hatay province have been hit with multiple missiles fired from northern Syria for two days in a row.

What’s the background to the offensive?

In an earlier statement after the artillery bombardment began, the YPG vowed to “confront Turkish troops and FSA terrorists”, referring to Turkey’s allies in the Free Syrian Army militia.

A Syrian rebel commander said the clashes with the YPG fighters were intense, but that the Turkey-backed forces would fight to “eliminate terrorism” from the area.

The Afrin operation poses considerable military and political risks for Turkey. It is not clear how many Turkish soldiers are on the ground. Three Kurdish fighters – two of them women – were killed Saturday in the airstrikes along with at least seven civilians. The Observatory said Turkey-backed troops were trying once again to enter Afrin.

But Ankara has denied inflicting civilian casualties, with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accusing the YPG of sending out “nonsense propaganda and baseless lies”.

Western powers, including the United Kingdom and France, have urged restraint in order to avoid civilian casualties. Turkey’s total domination of the air over these border towns will give its ground troops a decisive advantage against Syrian Kurds. Mr Delattre would not say if Turkey ought to stop the operation altogether.