72 Turkish jets pound Kurdish militia in Syria's Afrin

World
Europe

Turkey opened a new front in Syria's nearly seven-year-old war on Saturday, launching airstrikes against a US-backed Kurdish militia in Afrin Province that raise the prospect of a further strain on relations between Ankara and Washington.

The operation, dubbed "Operation Olive Branch" by Ankara, pits Turkey against Kurdish fighters allied to the United States at a time when ties between Turkey and Washington – NATO allies and members of the coalition against ISIL – appear dangerously close to a breaking point.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had repeatedly vowed that Turkey would root out the "nests of terror" in Syria of the People's Protection Units (YPG) militia, which Turkey deems a terror organization.

Turkish-backed fighters from the Free Syrian Army stand in the Tal Malid area, north of Aleppo, as they fire towards YPG positions in the village of Um al-Hosh, Afrin, Syria, January 20, 2018. /VCG Photo

YPG: Ten killed in Turkish attack

The strikes on the YPG hit some 108 targets, the Turkish military said. A total of 72 aircraft took part in the initial onslaught, it added, saying all returned safely to base. ISIL targets were also destroyed, it said.

On land, the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army rebels were also helping the operation in Afrin, a senior Turkish official said.

"The weakening of the region with artillery fire is under way. The first stage was carried out by aerial forces of the military and nearly all of the targets were destroyed," Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said.

From Sunday, land forces would also carry out "necessary activities," depending on developments, he said.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim (L) meets with Chief of the General Staff Hulusi Akar at the armed forces' headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, January 20, 2018. /Reuters Photo

The YPG said the strikes killed ten people, mostly civilians.

"Seven civilians were killed, including a child, as well as two female fighters and one male fighter," YPG spokesman Birusk Hasakeh said, adding that the child was an eight-year-old boy.

"We will defeat this aggression, like we have defeated other such assaults," the group said in a statement.

The YPG's political branch, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), said earlier on Saturday that 25 civilians had been wounded in the Turkish bombing.

Ankara also said there were casualties but all of them were Kurdish militants.

Smoke billows on the Syrian side of the border at Hassa near Hatay, southern Turkey on January 20, 2018 as Turkish jet fighters hit YPG positions. /VCG Photo

Syria denies being informed

Differences over Syria policy have complicated Turkey's already difficult relationship with NATO ally the United States, which has backed the YPG, seeing it as an effective partner in the fight against ISIL.

On Saturday, US reaction to the strikes was cautious. The Pentagon said the United States urged those involved to focus instead on the fight against ISIL.

A Pentagon official said: "We encourage all parties to avoid escalation and to focus on the most important task of defeating ISIS (ISIL)."

A US State Department official said US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had spoken to the Russian and Turkish foreign ministers, but gave no details on the calls.

Timur Akhmetov, Ankara-based researcher at the Russian International Affairs Council, told AFP that Russia appeared to have given the "green light" to the operation but made clear it should not lead to destabilization elsewhere.

"I don't think Russia will agree to let Turkey occupy the whole Afrin region and insists on keeping the Syrian government in charge," he added.

A Turkish fighter jet flies over the town of Hassa on the Turkish-Syrian border in Hatay Province, Turkey, on January 20, 2018. /Reuters Photo

The YPG's growing strength across large parts of northern Syria has alarmed Ankara, which fears the creation of an independent Kurdish state on its southern border. Syrian Kurdish leaders say they seek autonomy as part of Syria, not secession.

In comments to media, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his government was informing the Syrian government "in writing" about the Afrin assault, but Damascus denied it.

"Syria completely denies claims by the Turkish regime that it was informed of this military operation," a foreign ministry source told state news agency SANA.

The assault, the source said, "is the latest move in Turkey's attacks on Syria's sovereignty," adding that "Syria strongly condemns the brutal Turkish aggression on Afrin, which is an inseparable part of Syrian territory."

6724km

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters