Last week, Turkey announced that it would launch a military incursion in northeastern Syria to drive away Kurdish militants from the area and set up a “safe zone” in the region to accommodate Syrian refugees there. The US said it would never back the Turkish operation and would withdraw its troops from the Kurdish-held territory.
Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring in northeastern Syria has officially begun, President Erdogan announced via Twitter on Wednesday.
Civilians are Reportedly Leaving Ras al-Ain After Start of Operation Peace Spring
People are fleeing the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain in search of safer places after the beginning of Turkey’s military operation, DHA has reported.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reported the deaths of two civilians as a result of Turkish airstrikes in northern Syria on Wednesday, the SDF Coordination and Military Operations Centre said.
According to the SDF, the victims of airstrikes were two residents of a village located west of the city of Ras al-Ayn in Hasakah province. Two more people were injured, the SDF reported.
- UNSC to Discuss Syria on Thursday at Request of European MembersThe United Kingdom, France, Germany, Poland and Belgium will request the UN Security Council to convene a meeting on Thursday morning to discuss the Turkish military operation in the north of Syria, Belgian Ambassador to the United Nations Marc Pecsteen de Buytswerve told reporters.“The EU5 [France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Poland and Belgium] will ask the meeting probably tomorrow morning,” Buytswerve said on Wednesday.
- 18:34Damascus to Make Turkey Pay ‘Heavy Price’ for North Syria Operation – DiplomatMOSCOW (Sputnik) – Damascus will “take every action possible” to make Turkey “pay a heavy price for its aggression,” Syrian Ambassador to China Imad Moustapha said on Wednesday, shortly after Ankara announced the start of its operation in North Syria.Turkey described the offensive as an anti-terrorist operation that would preserve Syria’s territorial integrity.”It is major direct aggression by a foreign country on a neighbouring country which is in violation of all UN resolutions calling for respecting Syrian independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Moustapha said.”The consequences will be grave and Syria will take every action possible, direct and indirect, symmetrical and asymmetrical, to make Turkey pay a heavy price for its aggression and violation of our territorial integrity,” the diplomat added.
- 18:32Ankara Takes Care Not to Harm Allies In Syria – Turkish Defence Minister
- 18:31Turkey Sent Diplomatic Note to Syrian Consulate in Istanbul to Inform Them of Operation – Turkish Foreign Minister
- 18:22Situation in Ras al-Ain After Turkey Launches Offensive in Northeast Syria
- Six Rockets Fired From Syria Towards Turkish Border Town – ReportsAccording to Anadolu news agency, the rockets were fired from Qamishli towards the centre of the Turkish border town of Nusaybin.
- 17:56NATO Informed of Op, Turkey Needs to Ensure Its Actions are Proportionate – Alliance ChiefNATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that the bloc has been notified of the Turkish operation, adding that Ankara does have ‘legitimate security concerns’. At the same time, the official called on the Turkish authorities to ensure that their actions in the Middle Eastern country are proportionate.
- 17:55Syrian Kurds Shelled Nusaybin in Response to Turkish Air Strikes on North Syria – ReportsDAMASCUS (Sputnik) – The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Arab-Kurdish units, in response to Turkish air strikes, shelled the Turkish city of Nusaybin on the border with Syria from mortars, the Syrian state television reported Wednesday.The Ikhbariya TV channel also said the SDF units set on fire several oil fields in the north of Syria’s Hasakah province.
- 17:51German Foreign Minister Slams Turkish Operation, Calls on Ankara to Stop OffensiveGermany has strongly criticised the Turkish offensive in Syria saying that by launching a military operation, Ankara is risking to destabilise the situation in the region.
