Photo: Turkey’s Syria offensive springs Kurdish and al-Assad alliance
Updated On Oct 27, 2019 11:38 AM IST
In what it termed as Operation Peace Spring Turkey with its Syrian rebel allies launched a military operation into northeastern Syria, on October 09. The offensive was aimed at eliminating a claimed terror corridor along the southern Turkish border. Despite strong opposition from world leaders Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan remained adamant on the offensive. A look at the major developments so far.
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Updated on Oct 27, 2019 11:38 AM IST
Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Tal Abyad, pictured from the Turkish side of the border where a pigeon is seen in Akcakale. Turkey and its Syrian rebel allies launched their military operation into northeastern Syria, on Wednesday, October 09. The offensive was aimed to eliminate a “ terror corridor “along the southern Turkish border, said Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan labeling it “ Operation Peace Spring”. (Bulent Kilic / AFP)
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Updated on Oct 27, 2019 11:38 AM IST
Erdogan said Operation Peace Spring would aim to eliminate threats from the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia and Islamic State militants, and enable the return of Syrian refugees in Turkey after the formation of a “safe zone”. The assault began days after US President Donald Trump pulled American troops out of the way, prompting denunciations from senior members of his own Republican Party who say he abandoned the Syrian Kurds, loyal allies of Washington against ISIS. (AP)
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Turkey-backed Syrian opposition fighters enter Tel Abyad from Turkish gate towards Syria, at Akcakale, in Sanliurfa province on October 10. Turkish commandos pushed deeper into Syrian territory east of the Euphrates river on the second day of offensives against Kurdish militia. Turkish media reported troops entering Syria at four points, two of them close to the Syrian town of Tel Abyad and two close to Ras al Ain further east. (Bulent Kilic / AFP)
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An apartment building is damaged by a rocket fired from Syria, in Nusaybin, Turkey. Turkish forces shelled targets near Ral al Ain and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters responded, a witness said. The Turkish military hit 181 targets of the Kurdish militia with its air force and artillery since the start of operation. One of the prisons where ISIS detainees were held was also struck by a Turkish air strike, the SDF said. (Sertac Kayar / REUTERS)
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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg shake hands after a joint press conference, in Istanbul, on October 11. NATO’s secretary-general said he acknowledges Turkey’s legitimate security concerns but has urged Ankara to exercise restraint in its incursion into northeast Syria. (Akin Celiktas / AP)
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The Kurds, who recaptured swathes of northeastern Syria from Islamic State with the backing of the United States, say the Turkish assault could allow the jihadist group to re-emerge as some of its followers were escaping from prisons. Five Islamic State fighters fled a jail in Qamishli, the largest city in the Kurdish-held the day ISIS claimed responsibility for a deadly car bomb in the city which was under heavy Turkish shelling. (Nazeer Al-khatib / AFP)
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Turkey claimed control of Ras al-Ain on October 12. The Turkish defence ministry said its forces seized control of Ras al-Ain, one of the two key border towns at the focus of Ankara’s military offensive. “As part of the successful operations being conducted in the framework of Operation Peace Spring, the town of Rasulayn, located east of the Euphrates, has been brought under control,” the ministry said in a post on Twitter. (Ozan Kose / AFP)
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The Kurdish-led administration in northern Syria issued a statement Sunday saying 950 ISIL supporters escaped from a camp in Ain Issa after attacking guards. 859 people successfully escaped from the section housing foreigners, although few were recaptured but supporters inside the other section of the camp also escaped. The camp, 35km south of the Turkey-Syria border, is home to 12,000 people, including 1,000 wives and children of suspected ISIL fighters. (Khalil Ashawi / REUTERS)
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A Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighter holds the Syrian opposition flag near the border town of Tel Abyad. Turkey-backed Syrian opposition forces took control of Tel Abyad’s city center and cleared it of Kurdish fighters. Tel Abyad is the two second border town at the focus of the ongoing Turkish offensive. (Khalil Ashawi / REUTERS)
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Updated on Oct 27, 2019 11:38 AM IST