Kurds rush to border as Turkey attacks
EU calls for bombing to stop as SDF abandons conflict with Isil to defend itself against airstrikes
The West’s Syrian Kurdish allies announced last night they were halting all operations against Isil as they rushed their forces to face the Turkish assault on north-east Syria. Turkey unleashed a wave of airstrikes and artillery bombardment against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) along the Turkish border but also struck deeper inside Syria, indicating a wider offensive than initially expected. At least two civilians were killed in the first hours of the attack, the SDF said.
THE West’s Syrian Kurdish allies announced last night they were halting all operations against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) as they rushed their forces to face the Turkish assault on north-east Syria.
Turkey unleashed a wave of airstrikes and artillery bombardment against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) along the Turkish border but also struck deeper inside Syria, indicating a wider offensive than initially expected.
At least five civilians were killed in the first hours of the attack, the SDF said, and the roads along the border were clogged with cars and trucks as thousands of terrified people fled.
Turkey last night said its forces had crossed the border and begun a ground invasion into northern Syria, supported by Syrian rebels.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish president, said the offensive would be known as Operation Peace Spring and was designed to push back the SDF, which Turkey considers a terrorist group. “Our mission is to prevent the creation of a terror corridor across our southern border, and to bring peace to the area,” he said.
EU states said the Turkish incursion would “undermine the stability of the whole region” and called for a halt to the bombing. Britain and other European nations have called an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council today.
Last night, Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, said he had “serious concerns about the unilateral military action that Turkey has taken. This risks destabilising the region, exacerbating humanitarian suffering, and undermining the progress made against Daesh”.
Donald Trump, who has given contradictory messages in recent days, said the attack was “a bad idea” but did not call for a halt. He said Turkey had promised to protect civilians and avoid a humanitarian disaster “and we will hold them to this commitment”.
The Turkish attack appeared to immediately embolden Isil loyalists, confirming the fears of Western security officials that the jihadists would try to take advantage of the chaos.
There were reports of rioting by female Isil prisoners against their guards at al-hol, the vast detention camp where 70,000 women and children are being held.
There was confusion last night over what would happen to Isil fighters being held prisoner. The White House
‘There’s columns of smoke rising above the city. There’s a lot of chaos and confusion, people are scared’
said Turkey would now be responsible for “all Isil fighters being held captive”. But Turkey said yesterday it would demand that Britain and other European countries take their citizens home.
An Isil suicide bomber also attacked an SDF position in Raqqa hours before the offensive began. The SDF said it was halting its anti-isil operations because all its forces were needed to face the Turks. “It’s impossible to carry out any operation while you are being threatened by a large army right on the northern border,” an official said.
The Turkish strikes began on the border towns of Ras al-ain and Tal Abyad but quickly expanded to include SDF targets far outside of Mr Erdoğan’s proposed 12.5-mile (20km) “safe zone” along the Turkish border.
Warplanes reportedly struck the towns of Derik and Qamishli as well as an SDF base at Ain Issa, close to a camp holding foreign Isil wives and children, including some British citizens.
“There’s smoke, columns of smoke rising above the city,” Lizzie Irvine, a British volunteer with the Kurds, told The Daily Telegraph from Ras al-ain.
“There’s a lot of chaos and confusion, people are scared.”
The SDF fired mortars and rockets into two towns in southern Turkey in response, according to Turkish media. No casualties were reported.
Turkey is likely to continue its aerial bombardment before sending in fighters from the Syrian National Army, a Syrian rebel proxy group, supported by Turkish armoured units and special forces. SDF lacks heavy weaponry and anti-aircraft equipment and is likely to struggle in a confrontation with Turkey’s modern military.
Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator close to Mr Trump, said the White House had “shamelessly abandoned” the SDF to the Turkish attack.
Mr Raab said the UK would resist plans for Syrian refugees to be returned to the so-called safe zone.