The Turkish artillery bombed Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Syria, causing a mass exodus of civilians, a Kurdish militant spokesman and an observatory said on Thursday.
According to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Turkish artillery shelled areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), particularly in Tal Tamr and Abu Rashin.
On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that he would launch a new military operation against Kurdish fighters in two cities in northern Syria.
The Ankara operation is aimed at “riding Tal Rifat and Manbij of terrorists,” Erdogan said, addressing his party’s parliamentary group in the Turkish parliament.
It referred to the two most important urban centers outside of Turkish control west of the Euphrates River.
They are controlled by the People’s Protection Forces (YPG), the main component of the SDF, an organization that Ankara describes as “terrorist” and considers to be the Syrian arm of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
SDF spokesman Frahad al-Sami told AFP that Turkish forces and Islamist Syrian rebels close to Ankara had tried to infiltrate the northern part of Manbij yesterday but were repulsed by Kurdish troops.
According to him, heavy Turkish bombardment was reported in the area, mainly in Tal Tamr, which led to a mass exodus of civilians.
A representative of the Turkish Ministry of Defense was not available for comment.
Russia, a key ally of Syrian government forces in the war that erupted in 2011, voiced concern Thursday about the instability that a large-scale Turkish military operation could provoke.
“We hope that Ankara will refrain from actions that could lead to a dangerous deterioration of the already complicated situation in Syria,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Moscow understands Ankara’s desire to consolidate security in its border area with Syria, the Russian diplomat said, but the best way to do that would be to be able to station Syrian government troops on the border.
Mr Erdogan has threatened that the new military operation could reach a depth of 30 kilometers inside Syrian territory.
The United States, which has worked closely with the SDF for years in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist group, has made it clear it will oppose “any escalation” in northern Syria.
“We support the maintenance of the current ceasefire lines,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Wednesday during a joint news conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
