Turkey claimed it had “neutralized” 25 Kurdish fighters in airstrikes across the Syrian border Sunday, the latest attack in Turkey’s stepped-up campaign to retake towns from Kurdish rebels.
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At the same time, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said at least 35 civilians were killed south of Jarablus during fighting between Turkish-backed forces and rival Kurdish-aligned Syrian militias. Fighting has also continued between Turkey-backed rebel groups and a USA -backed coalition of Kurdish and Arab forces known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Turkish forces carried out their first air strikes on pro-Kurdish positions yesterday as part of what Ankara is calling “Operation Euphrates Shield”. The fighting pits a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally against a USA -backed proxy that is the most effective ground forces battling IS in Syria.
Turkish officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
The airstrikes were conducted after Turkish army and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) attacked by the Kurdish terrorists groups on Saturday night, the statement said.
Earlier reports said the village of Jub al-Kousa, located almost nine miles south of Jarabulus and controlled by fighters backed by Kurdish forces, had also suffered fatalities. Rebels posted pictures from inside the village.
The SDF has support from the United States, which sees the group as an effective Syrian ally against IS.
“For the issue of the PYD [Democratic Union Party] terror group in Syria, we have just the same determination”, he added, referring to the main pro-Kurdish party in northern Syria and its People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia.
Ankara says the YPG has broken a promise made to the U.S. to go back across the Euphrates River after advancing westwards earlier this month.
Turkey’s coming into conflict with the YPG or their Arab allies could further complicate its military campaign, the BBC said. Ankara views the PYD and the militia affiliated with it, which forms the backbone of the USA -backed Syria Democratic Forces, or SDF, as an extension of the Kurdish insurgency that is raging in southeastern Turkey.
The Turkish army said it was taking all the measures it could to avoid any civilian deaths in Syria.
Confirmation of the casualties among civilians also came from SDF spokesperson Shervan Darwish to AP, who said that Turkish assaults left “many civilians” dead in a village south of Jarablus. He said the bombing also targeted the village of Amarneh.
Turkey is part of the US -led coalition fighting the militants of the Islamic State group, but the airstrikes that began Saturday marked the first time it has targeted Kurdish-led forces in Syria.
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The fighting between them and Turkish-supported rebels and Turkish tanks and jets pits Turkey against its North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies.
