Update: BUSTED: Turkish official says Trump knew ‘precisely’ what Erdogan planned to do with Syria invasion
Daily Kos: “Meanwhile, a reminder that Trump, in his great and unmatched wisdom, has invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to visit the White House next month, probably to discuss how Trump’s business interests in Turkey are doing. And perhaps spend some quality time counting the dead bodies of our former allies.”
On Twitter, SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali accused Turkey of deliberately targeting “civilian areas.”
VOX: It’s worth noting that the US had 2,000 troops in Syria back in December and then Trump had the Pentagon cut that force in half in March. That’s definitely scaling back US involvement, but it’s still a far cry from ending any US role in the Middle East — and, again, it’s not what’s happening this week. (We still have 1,000 troops there according to Vox).
Common Dreams:
‘Humanitarian Catastrophe’: Civilians Flee as Turkey Launches Trump-Sanctioned Assault on Syrian Kurds
A spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) accused Turkish forces of deliberately targeting “civilian areas.”
A photo taken from Turkey’s Sanliurfa province on October 09, 2019 shows smoke rising at the site of Ras al-Ayn city of Syria as Turkish forces began bombing northern Syria. (Photo by Kerem Kocalar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
This is a developing story… Check back for possible updates…
Rights groups and anti-war activists warned of a looming “humanitarian catastrophe” Wednesday as Turkish forces invaded northeastern Syria and launched airstrikes against Kurdish targets, forcing civilians to flee in panic.
The attack comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump gave his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan a green light to begin the operation by announcing the abrupt withdrawal of American forces from northeastern Syria.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) warned in a statement Wednesday that Turkey’s assault “will spill the blood of thousands of innocent civilians because our border areas are overcrowded.”
On Twitter, SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali accused Turkey of deliberately targeting “civilian areas.”
Hundreds of civilians in northern Syria have fled areas on the border with Turkey within the last 30 minutes, two YPG fighters and witnesses tell CNN. @npwcnn reports. https://cnn.it/2B8hbIV
Fighters with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which leads the SDF, told CNN that hundreds of civilians scrambled to escape northeastern Syria as Turkey began bombarding the area:
In a statement issued before Turkey launched its attack, Amnesty International said “it is imperative that all parties to this conflict respect international humanitarian law, including by refraining from carrying out attacks on civilians and civilian objects, as well as indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks.”
“The international community must take measures to ensure respect for international humanitarian law by the Turkish authorities and pro-Turkey armed groups and Kurdish forces if yet another humanitarian catastrophe in northern Syria is to be avoided,” said Amnesty.