Türkiye's 'Operation Peace Spring' begins bombing Syria
(Baonghean.vn) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched a campaign against Kurdish-led militias in northeastern Syria. Ankara views the Kurdish militias as terrorists and argues that an attack is needed to bring “peace” to the region.
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| Illustration photo: AFP |
According to Mr. Erdogan, the above campaign not only targets the Kurdish-led militia, which Ankara believes is linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - a militant group banned by law in Türkiye, but also targets terrorist elements of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS).
According to media sources, Turkish aircraft and artillery began attacking positions in Syria immediately after Erdogan's announcement.
On October 9, the Turkish Defense Ministry said that some 181 targets had been hit since the start of the operation. Later in the day, the Turkish military said that it had launched the ground phase of the operation. Army units, as well as fighters affiliated with the Syrian “opposition,” began attacking positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Türkiye has closed its airspace along its border with Syria amid ongoing air strikes, with civilian aircraft told to stay away from the area.
Air strikes and artillery shelling are reported to be targeting the area around the Syrian border towns of Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ayn.
Syrian state media published images from Ras al-Ayn showing numerous warplanes in the skies as well as a long column of black smoke rising from a fire caused by air strikes.
