“The government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan considers the Kurdish fighters in Syria as terrorists, while it sees in al-Qaida and ISIS as allies”, she added.
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While Washington urged Turkey to stop bombing Kurds in Syria, they have also asked Russian Federation stop bombing anti-government forces in the Arab nation.
“The foreign ministry strongly condemns the repeated Turkish crimes and attacks against the Syrian people and Syria’s territorial integrity”, AFP cited Syria’s official news agency SANA as reporting on Sunday.
“In addition, Turkish artillery bombarded the towns of Maraanaz, al-Malikiyah, Minagh, Ain Dakna and Bazi Bagh, which are home to the civilian population”, Syria said in their letter to the United Nations.
France has called for an immediate end to airstrikes by Syria’s government and its allies and a halt to the Turkish shelling of Kurdish areas.
This comes after Turkey’s army launched a fierce campaign of bombardments on areas held by the Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and allied units of the western-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Aleppo.
The PYD is the Syrian affiliate of the PKK, which is listed as a terror group by Turkey, the US and European Union and has waged war against the Turkish state since 1984.
The expert explained that Turkey’s intervention in Syria is not just to protect their profitable businesses with Islamic State group, but also because IS fighters have created a beneficial buffer zone which could eventually help Ankara “occupy” a region inside of Syria between their border and Aleppo.
Opposition activists say Turkey has shelled positions held by the main Kurdish militia in northern Syria for a second day Sunday.
“The disagreement between the United States and Turkey regarding PYD-YPG is evident”, said Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, Ankara Office Director of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
France said priority should be given to implementing an agreement reached in Munich this week on ceasing hostilities, and the fight against so-called Islamic State (IS) group.
The fighters, the YPG militia based in Syria, have rejected Turkey’s demand to leave areas it has seized, saying Islamists would return if it left.
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The YPG is the main fighting force of Syrian Kurds and a key ally of the U.S.-led coalition battling the Islamic State group. Aleppo was one of the last cities in Syria to join the uprising against President Bashar Assads government which began in 2011. The Observatory said some 350 Islamist fighters had been allowed to travel through Turkish territory on Saturday to reinforce Islamist rebels in Azaz and Tal Rifaat.
