by News Desk at The Cradle
Turkish forces attacked several areas in Syria’s northern Idlib governorate on 1 June, including positions occupied by the US-led coalition, according to local reports.
This is the first time that Ankara’s forces have targeted positions held by its NATO allies in Syria.
The attack came just hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that his troops will proceed with the planned military invasion into Syria, starting with the cities of Tal Rifaat and Manbij.
The operation will allegedly resume efforts to establish a 30-kilometer long ‘safe zone’ along Turkey’s southern borders in order to curb “threats” from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) – the backbone of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – which Ankara labels as terrorist organizations.
“We are taking a new step in establishing a 30km security zone along our southern border,” the Turkish president said. “We will clean up Tel Rifaat and Manbij.”
Presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin justified the illegal invasion of Syria, saying:…
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