Turkey attacks SDF post on Syria border after operation threat
October 9, 2019, 8:46 am

Turkey attacks SDF post on Syria border after operation threat

Turkish army soldiers drive towards the border with Syria near Akcakale in Sanliurfa province on October 8, 2019. (AFP)

The Turkish military on Tuesday bombarded a Syrian Democratic Forces post on the border. The Kurdish fighters told Al Arabiya that they did not respond to the attack and that there were no injuries on their side.

Turkey’s military also struck the Syrian-Iraqi border to prevent Kurdish forces using the route to reinforce northeast Syria, as Ankara prepared to attack following a surprise U.S. troop pullback, Turkish officials told Reuters on Tuesday.

Earlier on Tuesday Turkey sent more armored vehicles to the border with Syria, an AFP correspondent said, after the defense ministry said Ankara was ready for a cross-border offensive.

Dozens of vehicles made up a large convoy seen by the correspondent in the town of Akcakale in Sanliurfa province.

Different types of construction equipment were also part of the convoy which had been sent to reinforce the military units on the border, state news agency Anadolu reported.

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The Turkish defense ministry earlier said preparations for a military operation in northern Syria against a Kurdish militia viewed by Ankara as terrorists were “completed.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to launch an offensive against the US-backed People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia and said Monday that Turkey could start the operation “without warning.”

The YPG spearheaded the fight against the ISIS extremist group under the Syrian Democratic Forces banner with the support of the US-led international coalition.

Although US President Donald Trump appeared to give a green light to the Turkish invasion on Sunday, he later threatened to “obliterate” Turkey’s economy if it went too far.

The Turkish parliament on Tuesday evening approved a one-year extension of a mandate to use troops abroad in Syria and Iraq.

It had been due to run out on October 30.

The mandate, first approved by parliament in October 2014, has been renewed every year since then.

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