The Jarablus Military Council, affiliated with the U.S-backed Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces, said the Turkish airstrikes marked an “unprecedented and risky escalation” that “endangers the future of the region”.
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Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said the army had killed 25 Kurdish “terrorists” in air strikes as part of its unprecedented operation inside Syria.
On Saturday, clashes erupted for the first time between Turkish forces backed by tanks and pro-Kurdish fighters in the town of Al-Amarneh, also south of Jarabulus.
A Turkish soldier was killed by a Kurdish rocket attack late Saturday, the first such fatality in Turkey’s ground offensive dubbed Euphrates Shield that began August 24.
The clashes underscore Ankara’s determination to push back Kurdish forces from along its borders, and curb their ambitions to form a contiguous entity in northern Syria.
But violence raged. Suspected government helicopters dropped two barrel bombs on a wake held for children killed a few days earlier, killing at least 15, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It has been besieged for months with only intermittent worldwide aid deliveries getting through.
The escalation against the neighborhood comes after the evacuation of Daraya, a Damascus suburb, following a deal struck with the government after a grueling bombing campaign and a tight siege.
Turkish security forces simply said Turkish-backed forces had extended their control to five villages beyond Jarablus.
Aleppo has been caught in a bloody circle of violence, with rebels and government forces each promising to unite the divided city.
Turkey-based television channels carried the same report.
Rebels supported by Turkey fought Kurdish-backed forces in northern Syria on Saturday, as Ankara ratcheted up its cross-border offensive by saying it had launched air strikes against both Kurdish forces and Islamic State.
The declaration comes a day after the evacuation of almost 5,000 residents and fighters from the suburb began.
Tension has mounted in Syria’s Aleppo region in the past year between the U.S-backed Kurdish YPG force and its allies on one hand and Turkish-backed rebel groups on the other.
Turkey sent tanks across the border to help Syrian rebels capture Jarablus from the Islamic State group, and to contain Kurdish-led forces.
The roughly 8,000 civilians left in the town are also to be evacuated. Later reports by the agency citing a Kurdish source claimed there were 40 casualties, though it’s not clear how many civilians were among them. Turkey says the Kurds must withdraw to the east of the nearby Euphrates River. The group blamed Russian and Syrian joint military operations room for the use of such weapons in violation of global law.
There was no immediate comment from Turkish officials.
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The Jarablus Military Council is supported by the USA -backed and Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces.
