Turkey, Syria battle rages

US says Kurds not abandoned, threatens sanctions

Turkish forces faced fierce resistance from US-allied Syrian Kurdish fighters on the third day of Ankara’s offensive in northern Syria, as casualties mounted, international criticism intensified and estimates put the number fleeing the violence at 100,000.

Yesterday, an explosion was reported in northern Syria near an outpost where US troops are located, but no Americans were hurt.

Turkey said it captured more Kurdish-held villages in the border region, while a hospital in a Syrian town was abandoned and a camp of 4000 displaced residents about 12km from the frontier was evacuated after artillery shells landed nearby.

Reflecting international fears Turkey’s offensive could revive the Islamic State group, two car bombs exploded in the Kurdish-controlled urban centre of Qamishli, killing three, and the extremists claimed responsibility. The city was heavily shelled by Turkish forces.

Kurdish fighters waged intense battles against advancing Turkish troops along the Turkish-Syrian border, a war monitor said.

The UN estimated the number of displaced at 100,000 since Wednesday. Aid agencies have warned of a humanitarian crisis, with nearly half a million people at risk.

US President Donald Trump cleared the way for Turkey’s air and ground invasion after he announced his decision to pull American troops from their positions near the border, drawing swift bipartisan criticism he was endangering regional stability and putting at risk the lives of Syrian Kurdish allies who brought down Isis in Syria.

US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said Washington was “greatly disappointed” by the offensive, which has damaged frayed relations with Natoally Turkey. In a strong statement of support for the Kurds, Esper insisted “we are not abandoning our Kurdish partner forces, and US troops remain with them in other parts of Syria”.

The Washington Post reported the Trump administration yesterday sharpened its demands Turkey end the military offensive and took a step toward punishing sanctions.

Despite the criticism, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country “will not take a step back” from its offensive.