Turkish forces hit Kurdish positions in Syria

Ankara Jan 24 (IANS) The Turkish military on Wednesday bombed US-armed Kurdish militia positions in the northern Syrian enclave of Afrin as its combined ground and air offensive entered its fifth day.

Ankara s cross-border incursion dubbed "Operation Olive Branch" has so far killed 268 Kurdish YPG militia members in Afrin and three Turkish soldiers the Chief of Staff claimed.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan s spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said that the leader was scheduled to address the operation in a telephone call with his American counterpart Donald Trump Efe news reported.

Turkey criticized the US on numerous occasions for backing the People s Protection Units (YPG) militia during Syria s seven-year-long civil war.

The YPG which received support and weapons from the US and fought against the Islamic State terror organization is itself considered a terror group by the Turkish government.

Ankara views the Syrian Kurdish militias as indistinguishable from Kurdish rebels inside Turkey which have fought the Turkish state for three decades in the country s eastern hinterlands.

Erdogan also held telephone conversations on Tuesday with his French and Russian counterparts Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin said government officials.

--IANS
soni/mr