Turkey on Saturday launched a new air and ground operation to oust Kurdish militia from their northern Syrian enclave, defying US warnings that the action risked further destabilising the area after almost seven years of civil war. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had repeatedly vowed that Turkey would root out the "nests of terror" in Syria of the People's Protection Units (YPG) militia which Turkey deems a terror organisation.
The launch came despite warnings that the operation could be militarily tough against an already battle-hardened foe and complicate relations with both Washington and Moscow. The foreign ministry of Russia, whose opinion is seen as crucial in determining how far the operation goes, said it had received the news of the campaign with concern and urged restraint.
Turkey's army said operation "Olive Branch" began at 1400 GMT and was aimed at the YPG and Islamic State (IS) jihadists. Among the targets in hit in air and artillery strikes was the YPG-held Minnigh military airport, which lies north of Aleppo, the state-run Anadolu news agency said. It said 108 targets were hit, with the casualties all Kurdish militants.
An AFP correspondent on the Turkish side of the border saw two war planes launch air strikes inside Syrian territory, sending huge white plumes of smoke up into the early evening sky. Units of pro-Ankara rebels known by Turkey as the Free Syrian Army (FSA) also began moving into the Afrin area of Syria which is controlled by the YPG, Anadolu said.
There were no initial reports of Turkish ground troops crossing the border. Erdogan said that after Afrin, the forces would also seek to oust the YPG from Manbij, a town to the east that the Kurdish militia also holds.
In a delicate diplomatic situation, the top diplomats of Russia, Iran and the United States in Ankara were invited to the foreign ministry to receive a briefing on the operation, the ministry said. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu held telephone talks with US counterpart Rex Tillerson while Turkey's top general Hulusi Akar informed his American and Russian counterparts.
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