Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Turkish Forces Push Deeper Into Syria, With Deaths Rising
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
October 11, 2019

Share

AKCAKALE, Turkey — Turkish forces pushed deeper into northeastern Syria on Friday, the third day of Ankara’s offensive against U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish fighters, as casualties mounted, international criticism of the campaign intensified and thousands of civilians fled the violence.
Turkey said it captured more Kurdish-held villages in the border region, while a camp for displaced residents about 7 miles from the frontier was evacuated after artillery shells landed nearby amid intense clashes. Aid agencies have warned of a humanitarian crisis, with nearly a half-million people at risk near the border.
U.S. President Donald Trump cleared the way for Turkey’s air and ground assault after he pulled American troops from their positions near the border, drawing swift bipartisan criticism that he was endangering regional stability and abandoning Syrian Kurdish forces that brought down the Islamic State group in Syria.
Trump has warned Turkey to act with moderation and safeguard civilians, and the Pentagon said the operation is a threat to progress in combatting IS militants and a potential threat to U.S. troops in Syria.
Plumes of black smoke billowed Friday from the Syrian border town of Tal Abyad as Turkey continued bombarding the area in an offensive that was progressing “successfully as planned,” the Turkish Defense Ministry said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said the military intends to move 19 miles into northern Syria and that its operation will last until all “terrorists are neutralized.” NATO member Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish fighters to be terrorists linked to a Kurdish insurgency inside Turkey and says the offensive is a counterterrorism operation necessary for its own national security.
The Defense Ministry statement reported the death of two Turkish soldiers, with three wounded, but did not give details. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said 342 “terrorists” — Ankara’s term for Syrian Kurdish militiamen — have been killed so far. The figure could not be independently verified. Syrian activists say only eight fighters were killed.

Syrian Kurdish Forces Had Been Holding More Than 10,000 IS Members

The Kurdish militia has fired dozens of mortars into border towns inside Turkey in the past two days, including Akcakale, according to officials in two provinces on the Turkish side. They said at least nine civilians were killed, including a 9-month-old boy and three girls under 15.

“We have to be aware of this and mobilize the resources of our intelligence to undercut this emerging tangible threat.” — Russian President Vladimir Putin
Mourners in Akcakale carried the coffin of the slain boy, Mohammed Omar Saar, as many shouted, “Damn the PKK!” referring to the Kurdish insurgent group in Turkey linked to Syrian Kurdish fighters. The PKK is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and other countries.
The latest attack hit the town of Suruc, and a child in the town of Ceylanpinar died of his wounds Thursday night, the Anadolu Agency reported.
On the Syrian side, seven civilians have been killed since Wednesday, activists said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he doubts that the Turkish army has enough resources to take control of prison camps in the region housing Islamic State detainees, and he fears the captured fighters “could just run away,” leading to a revival of the militant group.
“We have to be aware of this and mobilize the resources of our intelligence to undercut this emerging tangible threat,” Putin said during a visit to Turkmenistan.
The Syrian Kurdish forces had been holding more than 10,000 IS members, but they said they are being forced to abandon some of those positions to fight the Turkish invasion.

‘It Is Not Enough to Say You Understand Turkey’s Legitimate Concerns’

In Washington, chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said Defense Secretary Mark Esper “made clear” in a phone call Thursday with his Turkish counterpart that the U.S. opposes the incursion.
Esper told his counterpart that the military actions “place at risk” the progress made to defeat the extremists and he urged Turkey to stop its operation, according to Hoffman. Esper also said the incursion “risks serious consequences” for Turkey, and he expressed his concern that it could harm U.S. personnel in Syria.
Separately, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged Ankara to exercise restraint, although he acknowledged what he said was Turkey’s legitimate security concerns about the Syrian Kurdish fighters.
In a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Stoltenberg also expressed worry that the Turkish offensive could “jeopardize” gains made against IS. Cavusoglu said Turkey expected solidarity from its allies.
“It is not enough to say you understand Turkey’s legitimate concerns, we want to see this solidarity in a clear way,” he said.
European Union Council chief Donald Tusk said Turkey’s operation is of “grave concern.” Abandoning the Kurdish fighters who have been crucial in the fight against IS “is not only a bad idea” but raises many “questions both of a strategic and moral nature,” Tusk said.
He said a threat by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to “open the gates” and let Syrian refugees flood into Europe was “totally out of place,” adding that the EU will never accept “that refugees are weaponized and used to blackmail us.”

European Diplomats Respond Cautiously to Idea of Sanctions

Amélie de Montchalin, the French secretary for European affairs, said sanctions against Turkey will be “on the table” at next week’s European Union summit because of the incursion, telling France Inter radio that Europe should respond to what she described as a shocking situation against civilians and the Kurdish fighters in Syria.

Doctors Without Borders said the fighting has forced it to shut down one of the hospitals it supports in the border town of Tal Abyad that served more than 200,000 people.
European diplomats in Brussels have responded cautiously to the idea of sanctions, even though Turkey’s actions have been met with near-unanimous criticism.
The Turkish assault aims to create a corridor of control along Turkey’s border — a so-called “safe zone” — clearing out the Syrian Kurdish fighters. Such a zone would end the Kurds’ autonomy in the area and put much of their population under Turkish control. Ankara wants to settle 2 million Syrian refugees, mainly Arabs, in the zone.
The U.N. refugee agency said tens of thousands of people have fled their homes since Wednesday, while the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group, put the figure at more than 60,000.
Syrian Kurdish authorities evacuated people from the Mabrouka camp, located west of the town of Ras al-Ayn, because of artillery rounds falling in the area, according to the local Kurdish-led administration.
It was not immediately clear if there were any injuries in the camp for displaced residents, located 12 kilometers, or 7 miles, from the border.
Doctors Without Borders said the fighting has forced it to shut down one of the hospitals it supports in the border town of Tal Abyad that served more than 200,000 people. The violence forced most of the town’s residents to leave, including the medical staff and their family, leaving the group little choice but to close the facility, according to the group, known by its French acronym as MSF.
It said aid groups had to suspend or limit operations in the crowded al-Hol camp, home to more than 70,000 women and children located 30 miles from the Turkish border, as well as the Ain Eissa camp.
[activecampaign form=29]

DON'T MISS

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

DON'T MISS

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Halts Dozens of Research Grants at Princeton University

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

DON'T MISS

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

DON'T MISS

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

DON'T MISS

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

DON'T MISS

Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs

DON'T MISS

Raid Or Rumor? Reports Of Immigrations Sweeps Are Warping Life In CA’s Central Valley

UP NEXT

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

UP NEXT

UN Agency Closes Its Remaining Gaza Bakeries as Food Supplies Dwindle Under Israeli Blockade

UP NEXT

Lakers Hold Off Rockets With 6 3-Pointers Apiece From Dorian Finney-Smith, Gabe Vincent

UP NEXT

Athletics Bat Boy Stewart Thalblum Takes Down Drone in Left Field

UP NEXT

NFL Postpones Tush Push Decision but Passes Other Rule Changes, AP Source Says

UP NEXT

March Madness: It’s South Carolina vs. Texas and UCLA vs. UConn in Women’s Final Four

UP NEXT

Americans Rate Canada, Japan Most Favorably. Israel Sparks Record Partisan Divide: Gallup

UP NEXT

Major Layoffs Begin at Health Agencies That Track Disease and Regulate Food

UP NEXT

Israel Strikes a Building in Southern Beirut, Killing at Least 4 People

UP NEXT

U.S. Bank Executive Terry Dolan Dies in Plane Crash Near Minneapolis

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

9 hours ago

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

9 hours ago

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

9 hours ago

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

10 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

10 hours ago

Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs

11 hours ago

Raid Or Rumor? Reports Of Immigrations Sweeps Are Warping Life In CA’s Central Valley

11 hours ago

House Speaker Johnson Fails to Squash a Proxy Voting Effort From New Moms in Congress

11 hours ago

UN Agency Closes Its Remaining Gaza Bakeries as Food Supplies Dwindle Under Israeli Blockade

11 hours ago

Hooters Goes Bust and Files for Bankruptcy Protection

12 hours ago

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

Elon Musk has reclaimed his position as the world’s wealthiest individual, according to Forbes’ 39th annual World’s Billio...

6 hours ago

6 hours ago

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

8 hours ago

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

Nassau Hall at Princeton University is in Princeton, N.J., Oct. 8, 2024. (AP File)
8 hours ago

Trump Administration Halts Dozens of Research Grants at Princeton University

After 31 years of service, Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputy IV and Pilot Michael Sill is retiring, having logged over 10,000 flight hours.
9 hours ago

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

Khalid Ahmad holds a poster of his 17-year-old son, Waleed, who died in an Israeli prison, that reads in Arabic, "The hero prisoner Martyr, mercy and eternity for our righteous Martyrs," in the West Bank town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP/Nasser Nasser)
9 hours ago

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

9 hours ago

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

10 hours ago

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

Vehicles at an Audi showroom in Miami, March 29, 2025. President Donald Trump has said that tariffs would encourage auto companies and their suppliers to move to the U.S. (Saul Martinez/The New York Times)
10 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend