Turkey attacks Kurdish enclave in northern Syria
Turkish troops and Syrian opposition forces attacked a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria on Sunday in their bid to drive a US-allied Kurdish militia from the region.
Turkish officials said the troops entered the enclave of Afrin a day after dozens of Turkish jets and Turkish artillery units at the border pounded Syrian Kurdish targets as part of an offensive, code named Olive Branch, that came on the heels of sharp threats from Turkey’s leaders.
Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish militia, known as the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, a terror organization and a security threat because of its affiliation to Kurdish rebels fighting in southeastern Turkey.
The group controls Afrin, in Syria’s northwestern corner, as well as a swath of territory along Turkey’s border. The YPG also forms the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main US ally against the Islamic
HASSA:
State in Syria.
SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali denied that Turkish troops had entered Afrin, saying Kurdish forces had been repelling attacks since Saturday.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the Kurdish militia and Turkish forces have clashed on the northern and western edges of Afrin, but that Turkish troops have failed to advance.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to expand the operation to other Kurdish regions. Turkish media reports have quoted Prime Minister Binali Yildirim as telling a group of journalists on Sunday that Turkey aims to create a 30-km “secure zone” in Afrin.
Earlier Sunday, four rockets fired from Syria hit the Turkish border town of Kilis, prompting Turkish artillery to return fire.