DAMASCUS, SYRIA (1:00 P.M.) – The Turkish Ministry of Defense said a soldier was killed, four other wounded in clashes with Kurdish fighters in northern Syria.
The exact location and time where the first serviceman was killed in northern Syria offensive haven’t been specified.
The Turkish military and its allied Syrian rebels have reached the outskirts of Tal Abyad in northern Raqqa Governorate; and are now making all preparations to storm the Kurdish-held city.
So far, the Turkish army and opposition factions have penetrated some 8 km into the Syrian territories; occupying roughly 15 villages around Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain.
According to sources, the Turkish military has set up a new base between Suluk and Tal Abyad along the Turkey-Syria borders; cutting off the road linking the two towns.
On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan announced the start of Operation Peace Spring, aiming at destroying ‘terrorist Kurdish groups in east of Euphrates which pose a threat to Turkey’s national security’, as well as establishing a buffer zone in northern Syria.
Earlier, Turkey’s minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, said the first phase of the military campaign aims at penetrating 30 km into the Syrian territories.
So far, the Turkish aggression on northern Syria has killed and wounded scores, including civilians.
However, Turkey’s Ministry of Defense stated that up to 228 YPG fighters have so far been killed.
1 - 1Share
Be Civil
This is a Civilized Place for Public Discussion
Please treat this discussion with the same respect you would a public park. We, too, are a shared community resource — a place to share skills, knowledge and interests through ongoing conversation.
These are not hard and fast rules, merely guidelines to aid the human judgment of our community and keep this a clean and well-lighted place for civilized public discourse.
Make it better
Improve the Discussion
Help us make this a great place for discussion by always working to improve the discussion in some way, however small. If you are not sure your post adds to the conversation, think over what you want to say and try again later.
The topics discussed here matter to us, and we want you to act as if they matter to you, too. Be respectful of the topics and the people discussing them, even if you disagree with some of what is being said.
Now the hard part!
Be Agreeable, Even When You Disagree
You may wish to respond to something by disagreeing with it. That’s fine. But remember to criticize ideas, not people. Please avoid:
Instead, provide reasoned counter-arguments that improve the conversation.