Turkey announced on Wednesday that as a result of the first death reports, its ground forces invaded northeastern Syria in just a few hours after launching preliminary attacks in the area to fight the Kurdish army.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched the “Peace Spring” action on Wednesday after President Trump announced that the United States will withdraw from the region. It is believed that this has dealt a blow to the US-backed Kurdish forces there. Erdogan said the mission was to “eliminate the terrorist threat to Turkey and lead to the establishment of a safe area to promote the return of Syrian refugees.”
Activists and a war monitor said that at least seven civilians have been killed in a Turkish strike in northeastern Syria since the Syrian attack on Wednesday morning.
Trump told reporters on Wednesday that if the country does not act in the most ‘humane way’, he will do “far more than sanctions” to Turkey, and he hopes that Erdogan can act rationally. When asked what would happen if Erdogan wiped out the Kurds, Trump threatened to “eliminate” the Turkish economy and said he had done so.
The Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria, with the help of the United States in the region, guarded thousands of captured ISIS fighters.
The president said that the terrorists arrested were “the real bad guys and should return to Europe.”
Earlier Wednesday, Trump warned Turkey that the initial offense was a “bad idea.”
Trump said in a statement in the White House: “The United States does not approve of the attack and has made it clear to Turkey that this action is a bad idea.” “Turkey is committed to protecting civilians and protecting religious minorities, including Christians.” To ensure that there is no humanitarian crisis, we will abide by this commitment.”
A spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces led by Kurdish said on Wednesday that it “started air strikes against civilian areas” and caused “a huge panic among the people of the region.”
US military officials told Fox News that after the Kurds demanded that the US military provide air support, the president ordered the US military not to participate in the strike.
According to Bloomberg News, a group of Turkish troops entered the northeastern part of Syria for the first time on Wednesday morning, close to Tal Abiad and Ras Al Ain. According to the Turkish state-run Anadolu News Agency, the artillery units subsequently shelled suspicious Syrian Kurdish targets in Talabad, while two mortar shells attacked the Turkish border town of Cheran Pinar.
Trump said: “We have said to various countries, we hope that you will bring back your people. No one wants them, they are very bad.” He added, “Maybe if they are not, the Kurds in Turkey will solve” . Fighting with ISIS
The president said that if the fighters escape, they will “return to Europe.”
Trump said that this situation is “unfair” for the United States, and entering the Middle East is “the most serious mistake in the history of the United States.”
He said: “We are doing [Europe, Russia, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria] work that should be done. […] We are 7,000 miles apart.
President Trump announced on Sunday that the United States will withdraw US troops from northern Syria, a move that puts the US-backed Kurdish forces (long-term allies fighting Syria and ISIS) at risk. Ankara believes that the Syrian Kurdish forces are terrorists and are allied with the Kurdish uprisings in Turkey.