AKCAKALE – Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel allies attacked Kurdish militia in northeast Syria, pounding them with air strikes and artillery before starting a cross-border ground operation.
The assault on Wednesday began days after United States President Donald Trump pulled American troops out of the way, prompting denunciations from senior members of his own Republican Party who said he abandoned the Syrian Kurds – loyal allies of Washington.
The Turkish air strikes killed at least five civilians and three fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and wounded dozens of civilians, the SDF said.
The Kurds played a leading role in capturing territory from Islamic State, and now hold the largest swathe of Syria outside of the hands of President Bashar al-Assad.
Trump’s decision to pull forces out of the way was denounced by some Kurds as a “stab in the back.”(Reuters)
