Civilians flee Syrian border towns as Turkish warplanes, artillery kick off attacks via ReutersTV
AKCAKALE, Turkey - Turkey attacked Kurdish militia positions in northeast Syria on Wednesday, pounding them with air strikes and artillery barrages in a cross-border military operation just days after U.S. troops pulled back from the area.
European countries called on Ankara to halt the operation and Egypt called it “a blatant and unacceptable attack on a brotherly Arab state”. A Reuters cameraman in the Turkish town of Akcakale saw several explosions across the border in the Syrian town of Tel Abyad. A witness said people were fleeing en masse.
In the build-up to the anticipated offensive, Syria had said it was determined to confront any Turkish aggression by all legitimate means. The United Nations Security Council will meet on Thursday at the request of European countries, who expressed alarm at the offensive, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that the bloc would not fund Ankara’s plans in the region.
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