A planned Turkish military operation in northern Syria has now begun, the country's president announced Wednesday, as Kurdish fighters say warplanes are already bombing civilian areas in the region.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted that the maneuvers being carried out against Syrian Kurdish forces – which Ankara considers terrorists allied with a Kurdish insurgency within Turkey – are part of Operation Peace Spring.
"Our mission is to prevent the creation of a terror corridor across our southern border, and to bring peace to the area," he said in a tweet. "#OperationPeaceSpring will neutralize terror threats against Turkey and lead to the establishment of a safe zone, facilitating the return of Syrian refugees to their homes."
A spokesperson for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces says Turkish warplanes have "started to carry out airstrikes on civilian areas", causing a "huge panic among people of the region."
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Turkish officials who spoke to Bloomberg on condition of anonymity say the offensive will target Syrian border towns first to minimize any chance of a Kurdish state growing near its territory.
Expectations of a Turkish invasion rose after President Trump on Sunday abruptly announced that American troops would step aside ahead of the Turkish push — a shift in U.S. policy that essentially abandoned the Syrian Kurds, longtime U.S. allies in the fight against ISIS in Syria.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/turkey-syria-kurdish-troops-military-assault
