260 Kurdish, IS fighters killed in Syria, says Turkey
CONCERNS RAISED Nato allies US, France voice disquiet over offensive
ANKARA/BEIRUT: Turkey has killed at least 260 Syrian Kurdish fighters and Islamic State militants in its four-day offensive into the Kurdish-dominated Afrin region of northwest Syria, the Turkish military said on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump planned to raise concerns with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call expected on Wednesday about Ankara’s offensive against Us-backed Kurdish YPG forces in Afrin, a senior US official said.
French President Emmanuel Macron also voiced disquiet, a few hours after Turkey’s foreign minister said it wanted to avoid any clash with US, Russian or Syrian government forces during its offensive but would do whatever necessary for its security.
The air and ground operation has opened a new front in Syria’s multi-sided civil war and could threaten US plans to stabilise and rebuild a large area of northeast Syria — beyond President Bashar al-assad’s control — where Washington helped a force domi- nated by the YPG to drive out Islamic State militants.
The US and Russia both have military forces in Syria backing opposing sides and have called for restraint on the part of Ankara’s Operation Olive Branch to crush the YPG in the Afrin region near Turkey’s southern border.
A senior US official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, said Ankara had sent “conflicting signals” about the scope of the offensive.
“We would urge them to limit the incursion as much as possible,” the official said, who said the phone call would happen soon. Another official - as well as Turkey’s foreign minister - said Erdogan and Trump planned to speak on Wednesday.
A statement by Macron’s office said: “Taking into account Turkey’s security imperatives, the president expressed to his Turkish counterpart his concerns following the military intervention launched on Saturday in Afrin.”
Erdogan told Macron on Tuesday Turkey was taking all measures to prevent civilian casualties in the Afrin operation, sources at the presidential palace said. The two leaders agreed to stay in close contact on the issue.
The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had also discussed Turkey’s military operation Erdogan by phone and that Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty had to be respected.
The Us-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) rejected a Turkish army statement that Islamic State was present in the Afrin region. “The whole world knows Daesh (Islamic State) is not present in Afrin,” Redur Xelil, a senior SDF official, told Reuters. He said the Turkish military had greatly exaggerated SDF casualties, though he declined to say how many had been killed.
Two rockets fired from the Syrian region of Afrin struck the Turkish border town of Kilis on Wednesday, wounding 13 people, the local governor said. Media footage showed security forces clearing the areas of civilians following the attacks.