Turkey launched a military operation against Kurdish fighters in northeast Syria...
ISTANBUL/BEIRUT - Turkey launched a military operation against Kurdish fighters in northeast Syria on Wednesday, with air strikes hitting the border town of Ras al Ain.
It had been pushing the United States to jointly establish a “safe zone” extending 20 miles into Syrian territory, but repeatedly warned it could take unilateral military action after accusing Washington of dragging its feet. For the SDF alliance, in which the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia is the dominant force, much will depend on whether the United States continues to keep forces in other parts of the northeast and east.
The immediate focus of Turkey’s military plans appears to be around a section of the border between the towns of Ras al Ain and Tel Abyad, which are about 100 km apart. A U.S. official told Reuters on Monday U.S. forces had withdrawn from observation posts there. Russia has said that Turkey has the right to defend itself, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Syria’s territorial integrity must be preserved and that all foreign military forces “with illegal presence” should leave Syria.
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