Turkey jets hit group linked to Syria Kurds
The Jarablus Military Council, a group that is part of the Kurdish-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, said the jets hit a village south of the strategic town of Jarablus, causing civilian casualties
KARKAMIS
(TURKEY): A group allied to Kurdish-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said it was bombarded by Turkish warplanes on Saturday, after Turkey’s military launched an incursion this week into northern Syria against both IS and Kurdish forces.
Turkish military sources said planes had hit an ammunition store south of Jarablus, but they did not give details. If the jets struck targets linked to the Kurdish-aligned group, it would signal Turkey’s action against Kurdishbacked forces in Syria was being ratcheted up a notch.
The Jarablus Military Council, a group that is part of the Kurdishbacked SDF, said the jets hit a village south of the strategic town of Jarablus, causing civilian casualties. It called the action “a dangerous escalation”.
A Reuters witness in Karkamis, a Turkish town on the other side of the border from Syria’s Jarablus, saw warplanes flying from Turkish air space early on Saturday into Syria and then heard several blasts. The identity of the planes was not clear.
Syrian rebels backed by Turkish special forces, tanks and warplanes entered Jarablus this week, seizing the frontier town that had been an IS stronghold.
The rebel force backed by Turkey were largely Arab and Turkmen. The Turkish campaign preempted action by Kurdish-backed forces which had sought to get to Jarablus first.
Prevent Kurdish forces
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and other senior officials have made clear that the incursion is as much about pushing away IS as it is about preventing Kurdish forces filling the void left as the extremists withdraw.
Turkey wants to stop Kurdish forces gaining control of a continuous stretch of territory along its southern border, which Anka- ra fears could be used to support the Kurdish militant group PKK that is fighting an insurgency on Turkish soil.
Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have extended their control beyond Jarablus, seizing five nearby villages from IS, Turkish security sources said.
The Turkish Red Crescent has distributed food in Jarablus since Friday, the sources said.
The Jarablus Military Council said the village of Al Amarna, which lies a few km south of Jarablus, was hit by the warplanes.
In response to the Turkish strike, it said: “If they do not attack our forces, then we will keep the border strip secure.”
The newly formed Jarablus Military Council has said it was made up of people from the area with the aim of capturing the town and the surrounding region from Islamic State militants.
However, the Turkish-backed rebels seized Jarablus first.
The Jarablus Military Council has aligned itself with the SDF, which encompasses several militias including Arabs and the Kurdish YPG group.
The SDF alliance is backed by the United States, putting Ankara at odds with NATO ally Washington in the engagement in Syria, where a multi-faceted conflict has raged for five years.
A complex web of rivalries and alliances has emerged from what began with an uprising against Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, drawing in world powers and regional states.
On Thursday, a day after Turkey began its cross-border offensive, Turkish troops fired on USbacked YPG forces, which is part of the SDF. Turkey’s state news agency described that salvo as warning shots.