9th October, 2019
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the country’s army offensive into northeast Syria has started.
Erdogan called the invasion as “#OperationPeaceSpring,” in his tweet on Wednesday.
The operation has the support of the mercurial US President Donald Trump, who announced the withdrawal of US troops from the region, triggering accusation of betrayal by Kurdish fighters.
“The Turkish Armed Forces, together with the Syrian National Army, just launched #OperationPeaceSpring against PKK/YPG and Daesh terrorists in northern Syria. Our mission is to prevent the creation of a terror corridor across our southern border, and to bring peace to the area”, Erdogan tweeted.
“#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. We will preserve Syria’s territorial integrity and liberate local communities from terrorists”, he added.
Hours before Erdogan’s announcement, Syrian Kurdish forces warned of a “humanitarian catastrophe” and called for mobilisation.
Syria itself condemned the invasion into the Kurdish ruled north-eastern part of the war torn country and vowed to confront Turkish aggression, state media reports.
“Syria condemns, in the strongest terms, the reckless statements and aggressive intentions of the Turkish regime and the military build-up on the Syrian border, which constitutes a flagrant violation of the international law,” reported the official Syrian news agency (SANA) reports, citing an unnamed source at the Syrian Foreign Ministry.
“Syria renews its resolve to confront Turkish aggression by all legitimate means and confirms its readiness to accept its misguided sons if they return to the path of reason and righteousness,’’ the agency reported, referring to the Syrian Kurds.