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Turkey Begins Offensive Against Kurds in Northern Syria

VOA News

   National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin and VOA's Kurdish service
   contributed to this report

   Turkey has begun a long-planned military operation in northeastern
   Syria to take out Kurdish forces branded by Ankara as terrorists, but
   viewed by much of the West as key partners in the fight against Islamic
   State.

   Hours after airstrikes in the region, the second phase of Turkey's
   assault began, as Turkish ground troops crossed the border into
   northeast Syria, the Turkish Defense Ministry said late Wednesday local
   time.

   However, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spokesman Mustefa Bali
   announced on Twitter, however, that "Ground attack by Turkish forces
   has been repelled by SDF fighters" in the Tal Abyad region. "No advance
   as of now."

   Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Wednesday the start of
   the operation, called "Peace Spring" and said it was aimed at
   eradicating "the threat of terror'' against Turkey.

   The Turkish military operation began days after a surprise and widely
   criticized White House announcement that U.S. forces would withdraw
   from the region.

   "The United States does not endorse this attack and has made it clear
   to Turkey that this operation is a bad idea. There are no American
   soldiers in the area," President Donald Trump said in a statement
   Wednesday. "I made it clear that I did not want to fight these endless,
   senseless wars -- especially those that don't benefit the United
   States. Turkey has committed to protecting civilians, protecting
   religious minorities, including Christians, and ensuring no
   humanitarian crisis takes place -- and we will hold them to this
   commitment."

   Turkish airstrikes hit the town of Ras al-Ayn on the Syrian side of the
   border, local activists said. Smoke could be seen rising from area. The
   Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said Turkish warplanes were
   hitting civilian areas with airstrikes, causing huge panic.

   The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 15 people,
   including eight civilians, had been killed in the airstrikes. More than
   40 other people had been wounded, according to the Britain-based
   monitoring group, which has a network of sources across Syria.

   UN Security Council monitoring situation
   South African Ambassador the United Nations Jerry Matjila, currently
   president of the Security Council, said the council was monitoring the
   situation.

   "At this stage we call on all the parties to exercise maximum restraint
   and to ensure the protection of civilians particularly," he told
   reporters Wednesday. "It should also be emphasized that there is no
   military solution to the conflict in Syria."

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