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Residents Flee as Turkish, Kurdish Forces Battle for Border Towns

Heather Murdock

   ISTANBUL - NATO is urging Turkey to exercise restraint in its incursion
   into northeastern Syria.

   NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged Turkey's
   legitimate security concerns about the Syrian Kurdish fighters, but
   warned that the offensive could "jeopardize" progress made against the
   Islamic State terror group.

   Stoltenberg spoke at a news conference in Istanbul with Turkish Foreign
   Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Cavusoglu said Turkey expects solidarity
   from NATO against the threats it faces.

   Turkey has reported its first military fatality three days into its
   incursion into Syria. The defense ministry said three other soldiers
   were wounded, without giving any details. Civilian casualties are also
   reported, but the numbers are hard to pin down and confirm.

   Explosions were reported in the northern Syrian border towns of Ras al
   Ain and Tel Abyad Friday as the Turkish military offensive continued.

   The International Rescue Committee says 64,000 people have already been
   displaced and hundreds of thousands of other people could soon become
   homeless. Both sides report civilian deaths and injuries as mortars are
   lobbed over the border into Turkey.

   "Turkish planes have been striking from the air," said Diyar Ahmed, a
   spokesperson for Syria's Kurdish-led autonomous government in the
   northeast in a statement on Thursday. "At the same time, their heavy
   weapons haven't stopped, they aren't stopping in firing on the village,
   and civilians have been both wounded and lost their lives."

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