Civilians flee as Kurds battle invasion
UN chief Antonio Guterres expresses ‘deep concern’ over escalating violence in northern Syria
TALLTAMR,SYRIA: Syria’s Kurds battled to hold off a Turkish invasion as thousands of civilians fled air strikes and shelling that deepened fears of a humanitarian crisis. More than 70,000 people from Ras Al-Ayn and Tal Abyad have been displaced by escalating violence, according to the UN World Food Programme, which helps feed close to 650,000 people in northeastern Syria.
US President Donald Trump tried to justify the de facto green light he gave his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for an assault seen as a blatant betrayal of Washington’s erstwhile Kurdish allies.
Later, Trump suggested that Washington could mediate between Turkey and Kurdish groups and a US official said Trump has asked American diplomats to broker a ceasefire.
But international condemnation of the Turkish assault was overwhelming and the response to the operation was discussed in an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
UN chief Antonio Guterres expressed “deep concern” over the violence, while the council’s five European members urged Turkey “to cease the unilateral military action”.
French foreign minister JeanYves Le Drian called for an emergency meeting of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group.
Syrian Kurdish forces lost 11,000 personnel and played a major role in the years-long battle to eliminate the “caliphate” IS had set up in the region.
In scenes all too familiar since the start of Syria’s war in March 2011, civilians were seen abandoning their homes Thursday, in vehicles or on foot with their belongings on their backs.
The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Thursday estimated that 70,000 people have been newly displaced since Ankara launched its operation.
PUTIN: OPERATION MAY REVIVE ISLAMIC STATE
MOSCOW:Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Friday that jailed Islamic State (IS) militants could escape as a result of Turkey’s military operation in Syria, leading to the resurgence of the IS in the region.
“I’m not sure whether the Turkish army will be able to take this under control - and how soon,” Putin said in televised remarks on a visit to the Turkmen capital Ashgabat. “This is a real threat to us,” Putin told the heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).