Turkey offensive

Turkey’s president again hinted at a possible new ground offensive in Syria against Kurdish militants yesterday, as Syrian forces denounced new airstrikes and Russia urged restraint and called on Ankara to avoid an escalation. Russian presidential envoy in Syria, Alexander Lavrentyev, said that Turkey should “refrain from excessive use of force” in order to prevent an escalation in Syria, where tensions heightened over the weekend after Turkish airstrikes killed and wounded a number of Syrian soldiers. Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces later said fresh Turkish airstrikes yesterday struck a base the group shares with the USled coalition in the fight against Isis (Islamic State). Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey’s actions would not be limited to aerial strikes, suggesting a possible new incursion. “We have been on top of the terrorists for the past few days with our planes, artillery and drones,” Erdogan said. “As soon as possible, we will root out all of them together with our tanks and soldiers.”