Turkish troops shell Kurds in north Syria
REBELS RETALIATE HITTING TURKISH ARMY VEHICLE; UN APPOINTS NEW SYRIA ENVOY
Turkish forces shelled a Kurdish-controlled area of northern Syria, killing four Kurdish militants, Turkish state broadcaster TRT said on Wednesday, and Kurdish-led forces said they responded to Turkish attacks by hitting a Turkish army vehicle.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said the Turkish attacks had led to a temporary halt in the USbacked campaign it is waging against Daesh near the Iraqi border.
Turkey has repeatedly warned it would launch a cross-border offensive against the Kurdish YPG militia east of the Euphrates River in Syria, if the US military which supports the Kurdish fighters does not ensure their withdrawal.
The SDF, including the YPG, is the main US partner in the fight against Daesh in Syria and controls a swathe of the north and east — the biggest chunk of the country after the area held by the Syrian government of President Bashar Al Assad.
TRT said barrages of howitzer shells were launched at the Ain Al Arab, or Kobani region, from Turkey’s southeastern province of Sanliurfa, along the Syrian border. Four militants were killed and six wounded in the strikes on the region.
The SDF, in a statement, said Turkish forces were attacking its positions along the length of the border. SDF forces had responded by destroying a Turkish military vehicle, it said, without giving the location. The SDF reserved the “right to respond to all kinds of attacks.” The SDF general command said in separate statement that the Turkish attacks had led to the temporary halt of the campaign it is waging against Daesh in the Deir Al Zor region.
“The continuation of these attacks will cause a long halt in our military campaign against (Daesh),” it said.
“We call on the international coalition to show a firm position to deter Turkey from these attacks,” the SDF said.
Meanwhile, UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres told the UN Security Council, in a letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday, that Norwegian diplomat Geir Pedersen will be the new United Nations envoy to Syria.
Diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity said Pedersen — now Norway’s ambassador to China — had the informal approval of the council’s permanent five members: Russia, China, United States, France and Britain.
“In taking this decision, I have consulted broadly, including with the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic,” Guterres wrote. “Mr. Pedersen will support the Syrian parties by facilitating an inclusive and credible political solution that meets the democratic aspirations of the Syrian people.”