Kurdish Officials: Turkish Movements in N. Syria Threaten Raqqa Operation

[TomSea]

Kurdish Officials: Turkish Movements in N. Syria Threaten Raqqa Operation
July 06, 2017 4:45 PM

    Rikar Hussein
    Mutlu Civiroglu

Syrian Kurdish officials say Turkey's shelling of Kurdish militias in northwestern Syria and its troops' mobilization in the border region are preparation for a full-fledged military assault on northern Syria, which could impede U.S.-backed operations to rout Islamic State from its de facto capital, Raqqa.

Following intense, cross-border Turkish artillery attacks and military deployments near northwestern Syria's Afrin region since last week, Nasser Haj Mansour, a senior military adviser to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), told VOA that Turkish military actions were a "declaration of war" that could push thousands of U.S.-backed fighters to leave the battlefield in Raqqa and respond to developments in the border region with Turkey.

"Members of the Army of Revolutionaries and YPG who are fighting in the operation for Raqqa will leave that battlefield to defend their homes in Afrin," Mansour told VOA. "This will be a serious setback for the ongoing operation on Raqqa."

Continued: https://www.voanews.com/a/kurdish-officials-turkish-movements-north-syria-threaten-raqqa-operation/3931520.html