Turkey Moves Into Syria to Carve New Corridor Alongside Border

Turkey launched a ground offensive against Kurdish forces in northwest Syria on Sunday, using air strikes and artillery fire to target YPG positions in and around the town of Afrin and create a 30-kilometer deep security zone along the border within Syria.

Turkish soldiers moved into Afrin at 11 a.m. local time on Sunday, NTV television reported, citing Prime Minister Binali Yildirim’s comments to reporters in Istanbul. Turkish F-16s and artillery units hit 153 targets so far, the army said in a statement, adding that the so-called “Olive Branch” operation is aimed at Kurdish YPG forces as well as the Islamic State.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared the operation on Saturday, ignoring calls from the U.S. to avoid attacking Afrin. Turkey is using self-defense under international law, the government said, assuring Syria that the offensive was solely targeting “terrorists” and its forces would pull out after meeting its goals. Turkey has been outraged by plans to create a border security force using thousands of Kurdish fighters by the American-led coalition against the Islamic State, saying the Kurdish fighters have designs on Turkish territory.

While U.S. officials have denied the formation of such a force, Erdogan on Saturday accused America of trying to deceive Turkey. The offensive exacerbates strains that have tested Turkey’s relations with Washington in recent years.

“The operation in Afrin has effectively started and will be followed by Manbij,” Erdogan said, referring to another Kurdish stronghold on the western bank of the Euphrates River, where some U.S. troops are deployed alongside Kurdish forces.

Turkey has acted against Syrian Kurdish forces before. It began operating in northern Syria in 2016, its participation in an international effort to defeat Islamic State dovetailing with its campaign to
block the convergence of Kurdish-run regions. An earlier deployment in Idlib, to the south of Afrin, denied the Kurds access to the Mediterranean Sea -- a prized target for a planned Kurdish corridor running all the way to northern Iraq.

Explosions Seen
Loud explosions, giant flames and grey smoke billowing from targets could be seen from the Turkish border after the airstrikes, according to footage on NTV Television.

The Syrian government urged the international community to condemn the attacks and take steps to end the “aggression,” the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported, citing the
country’s foreign ministry. Some civilians were injured in the Turkish bombings, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported Saturday. Turkey said it has taken necessary steps to avoid civilian casualties and the Turkish Red Crescent was setting up temporary housing facilities in Azaz.