Turkish-led forces seize parts of Syrian town

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Smoke billows from the Syrian border town of Ras al-Ain as Turkey and its allies continued their assault on Kurdish-held border towns in northeastern Syria. — AFP photo

BEIRUT/ISTANBUL: Turkish forces and their Syrian allies seized large parts of the northern Syrian town of Suluk, a war monitor said yesterday, as they pressed on with their offensive against Kurdish militia for a fifth day in the face of fierce international opposition.

Turkey is facing threats of possible sanctions from the United States unless it calls off the incursion.

Two of its NATO allies, Germany and France, have said they are halting weapons exports to Turkey and the Arab League has denounced the operation.

Ankara launched the cross-border assault against the YPG militia after US President Donald Trump withdrew some US troops from the border region. Turkey says the YPG is a terrorist group aligned with Kurdish militants in Turkey.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said Turkish forces and Syrian rebels entered Suluk, some 10 km  from Turkey’s border. Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu news agency said the rebels seized complete control of Suluk.

Suluk is southeast of the Syrian border town of Tel Abyad, one of the two main targets in the incursion, which was shelled by Turkish howitzers on Sunday morning, a witness in the neighbouring Turkish town of Akcakale said.

Gunfire also resounded around the Syrian border town of Ras al Ain, some 120 km  to the east of Tel Abyad, while Turkish artillery continued to target the area, a Reuters reporter across the border in Turkey’s Ceylanpinar said.

Turkish-backed Syrian rebels, known as the National Army, advanced into Ras al Ain on Saturday but by Sunday there were still conflicting reports on who held control.

The Syrian Observatory monitoring group said the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in which the YPG comprises the main fighting element, had recovered “almost full control” of Ras al Ain after a counter attack.

A spokesman for the National Army denied this, saying its forces were still in the positions they took on Saturday.

Turkey’s incursion has raised international alarm over its mass displacement of civilians and the possibility of Islamic State militants escaping from Kurdish prisons.

The Kurdish-led forces have been key allies for the United States in eliminating the
jihadist group from northern Syria.

In the latest criticism, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed ‘grave concern’ to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, saying the offensive may worsen the humanitarian situation and undermine progress against Islamic State.

“He urged the President to end the operation and enter into dialogue,” a spokesman for Johnson said after a telephone call between the two leaders.

Turkey’s Defence Ministry said on Sunday that 480 YPG militants had been ‘neutralised’ since the operation began.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based organisation that reports on the war, said 74 Kurdish-led fighters, 49 Turkey-backed Syrian rebels and 30 civilians have been killed in the fighting. – Reuters