Turkey hits Kurd militia in Syria
reyhanli (Turkey) — The Turkish army on Saturday launched new strikes against Kurdish militia in northern Syria as preparations intensified for a cross-border ground operation that has alarmed the United States.
Turkey has in recent days sent military vehicles and hundreds of troops to the border area amid repeated threats from top officials that an operation could be launched at any moment.
The Turkish army said that it hit in “legitimate self defence” camps and refuges used by the People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia in response to fire coming from the Afrin region controlled by the militia group, which Turkey deems to be a terror organisation.
Similar strikes had also taken place on Friday, it confirmed.
Turkey accuses the YPG of being the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has waged a rebellion in the Turkish southeast for more than three decades and is regarded as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.
But the YPG has been the key ally of Turkey’s fellow Nato member the United States in the fight against Daesh militants, playing a key role in pushing the extremists out of their Syrian strongholds.
Turkish Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli said on Friday that the operation had “de-facto begun” because of the shelling but confirmed that Turkish troops had not yet crossed over into Syria.
Asked about the timing of a ground incursion, Canikli said: “It could be tomorrow, it could be in the evening. What we say is that this operation will take place.”
Correspondents in the area around the Turkish border town of Reyhanli saw several more Turkish military vehicles heading south to the border.
Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad warned on Thursday that the Syrian air force could destroy any Turkish warplanes used in a threatened assault on the war-torn country.
Analysts say that crucial for any major ground operation will be approval from Moscow which has a military presence in the area and a cordial relationship with the YPG.
Turkey’s army chief General Hulusi Akar and spy chief Hakan Fidan were in Moscow on Thursday for talks with Russian counterparts on Syria. — AFP