Page 10 - AT

A10 WORLD NEWS
Friday 25 OctOber 2019
Syria says Turkish-led forces attacked its troops

By BASSEM MROUE ish fighters captured the
Associated Press main fields from the Islam-
BEIRUT (AP) — Turkish forces ic State group and since
and their allies attacked then have helped finance
Syrian government troops in their self-rule by selling the
northeastern Syria on Thurs- crude, mainly to the Syrian
day, killing some of them, government.
and they also clashed with According to U.S. officials,
Kurdish-led fighters, the the American troops would
state news agency in Da- not actually "guard" the oil;
mascus and a war monitor- instead, they would work
ing group said. with the SDF to ensure that
The fighting underscored IS doesn't regenerate and
the risks of violence as mul- also to provide logistical
tiple and often opposing and other support.
armed forces jostle for new The reported attack on
positions in the tight quar- Syrian government forces
ters of the northeastern took place at the village of
border zone. Kozliya on the edges of the
Most worrisome has been Turkish-held zone.
the prospect of a collision Turkish-backed fighters also
between forces of the Syr- captured the nearby vil-
ian government' and those lage of Manajeer in clashes
backed by Turkey, which Russian forces patrol in the city of Amuda, north Syria, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019. with Kurdish forces, SANA
include Syrian rebel fighters Associated Press reported. They battled
and Islamic extremists op- ordered to leave earlier this reported without elaborat- culate whether the price to Kurdish fighters in two oth-
posed to President Bashar month, allowing Turkey to ing. Separately, the Kurd- pay on this path would be er nearby villages, "using
Assad. launch its invasion against ish-led Syrian Democratic too high or too low," Erdo- heavy weapons," said Mus-
All sides have said they are Kurdish fighters. Forces said three of its fight- gan said. He also warned tafa Bali, spokesman for
abiding by a cease-fire as Syria's state-run SANA news ers were killed in fighting against the possibility of the Kurdish-led SDF. He said
they implement a Russian- agency said Turkish troops with Turkish-backed forces. Syrian Kurdish fighters re- the SDF would defend itself.
Turkish agreement that di- and its allied fighters at- Syrian forces, Russian mili- suming fighting alongside SDF's Abdi tweeted that
vides up the border region. tacked Syrian army posi- tary advisers and military U.S., Russian or Syrian gov- Turkish troops and "their
But frictions could under- tions outside the town of police are being deployed ernment forces. jihadists continue to VIO-
mine the effort for a resolu- Tal Tamr. The Syrian troops in a zone 30 kilometers (19 "Turkey put us all in a very LATE and launch attacks."
tion on the border, which fought back and suffered miles) deep along much terrible situation. I think the Turkey has said it is abiding
U.S. forces were abruptly "martyrs and wounded," it of the northeastern bor- incursion was unwarrant- by the halt in fighting but will
der, under an agreement ed," he said. "I think Presi- eliminate any Kurdish fight-
reached Tuesday by Rus- dent Erdogan was fixated ers still in the zone where
sia and Turkey. They are to on making this incursion for the Russian deal gives it
ensure that Kurdish fighters one reason or another and direct control. The lines of
leave that area. Then Rus- there was not a possibility that zone have not been
sia and Turkey are to begin that we were going to start publicly defined, however,
joint patrols along a nar- a war with a NATO ally." and the location of the re-
rower strip directly on the The commander of the ported attacks suggested
Turkish-Syrian border. Kurdish-led force, Mazloum Turkish troops could be try-
Turkey is to keep sole con- Abdi, said Trump had as- ing to gain new ground on
trol of a large section in the sured him in a phone call its edges.
center of the border, most that American forces will Turkey's Defense Ministry
of which it captured in its "stay here for a long time said Kurdish fighters con-
invasion launched Oct. 9. and their partnership with ducted an attack with
Turkey wanted to drive the Syrian Democratic Forces a drone, mortar fire and
U.S.-allied Kurdish forces will continue for a long light weapons against Turk-
out of a "safe zone" along time." He told journalists that ish troops in Ras al Ayn,
the border after U.S. Presi- his force and the U.S. were wounding five soldiers. It
dent Donald Trump pulled discussing "how to take po- said the military responded
American troops from the sitions again in some areas in self-defense but did not
area. of northeast Syria." provide further details.
Turkish President Recep Erdogan, meanwhile, told In other violence, a boo-
Tayyip Erdogan renewed a Turkey's state television TRT by-trapped car exploded
threat to resume the military that the U.S. should hand outside the headquarters
offensive if his country con- Abdi over to Turkey, call- of a Turkish-allied militia
tinued to be "harassed" by ing him a "terrorist" wanted in the border town of Tal
the Kurdish militia. He also in Turkey. Turkish media re- Abyad, SANA and the Brit-
said Turkey would "crush" ports said Turkey holds him ain-based Syrian Observa-
any Syrian Kurdish fighter its responsible for a 2008 at- tory for Human Rights. They
military comes across while tack in southeastern Turkey said the blast wounded
trying to secure areas un- that killed 17 soldiers. four people in the town,
der its control. Trump has said some U.S. which was captured early
"We would never shy away troops will remain in Syria in Turkey's assault. There
from moving ahead on our to help the Kurds guard oil was no immediate claim of
path. We would never cal- fields in the east. The Kurd- responsibility.q