Turkey launched a long-threatened military operation in northeastern Syria Wednesday targeting a US-backed, Kurdish-led militia alliance, after a US decision to pull back from the border and abandon its Syrian Kurdish partners.
Turkish warplanes and artillery pounded positions of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) across a wide front, before ground forces crossed the border late in the evening.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the offensive, dubbed "Operation Peace Spring," would "eliminate a terrorist corridor" along the border and bring "peace and tranquility" to the region.
Read more: Explained: Why Turkey wants a military assault on Syrian Kurds
He added that the Turkish military, together with Turkish-backed Syrian fighters known as the Syrian National Army, were targeting Kurdish militants and the "Islamic State" (IS).
The launch of the operation caused a crescendo of international criticism and concern.
Read the full story and more in Deutsche Welle.
Author
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Nicholas Heras
Former Fellow, Middle East Security Program
Nicholas A. Heras is a former Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), working in the Middle East Security Program. His work focused on the analysis of complex...
