Turkish Military Moves Into Syria

January 21st, 2018

Via: BBC:

Turkish ground troops have crossed into northern Syria as part of Ankara’s campaign to rid the border area of Kurdish fighters, Turkey’s PM says.

Binali Yildirim said the aim was to establish a 30km (19-mile) “safe zone” inside Syria, Turkish media report.

Turkey launched its operation against the Kurdish YPG militia in the Afrin region with air strikes on Saturday.

The YPG denied Turkish troops were on Afrin soil, saying they had “repelled” the attacks and forced them to retreat.

The two sides have been exchanging fire. The Turkish military says it has so far taken out 153 targets belonging to Kurdish militants, while Kurdish rockets hit the border town of Kilis overnight.

The YPG (Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units) is part of a US-backed alliance with a number of ethnic Arab militias called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The SDF has said it will have no choice but to defend itself if attacked.

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