Page 6 - aruba-today-20221123

A6 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 23 november 2022
Turkey hints new Syria offensive; Russia urges restraint

By SUZAN FRASER Following the weekend’s
Associated Press airstrikes from Turkey, on
ANKARA (AP) — Turkey’s Monday suspected Kurdish
president again hinted at a militants in Syria fired rock-
possible new ground offen- ets across the border into
sive in Syria against Kurdish Turkey, killing at least two
militants on Tuesday, as Syr- people and wounding 10
ian forces denounced new others, according to Turkish
airstrikes and Russia urged officials.
restraint and called on An- While Kurdish-led forces in
kara to avoid an escala- Syria have not commented
tion. nor claimed responsibility
Russian presidential envoy for the attacks, the SDF on
in Syria Alexander Lavren- Monday vowed to respond
tyev said that Turkey should to Turkish airstrikes “effec-
“show a certain restraint” in tively and efficiently at the
order to prevent an escala- right time and place.”
tion in Syria, where tensions The Turkish warplanes at-
heightened over the week- tacked bases of the out-
end after Turkish airstrikes lawed Kurdistan Workers’
killed and wounded a num- Party, or PKK, and the Syrian
ber of Syrian soldiers. People’s Protection Units,
Lavrentyev expressed hope Syrian Kurds attend a funeral of people killed in Turkish airstrikes in the village of Al Malikiyah , or YPG on Saturday night
northern Syria, Monday, Nov. 21, 2022.
that “it will be possible to Associated Press and on Sunday. Turkish of-
convince our Turkish part- ficials claimed that 89 tar-
ners to refrain from exces- tant targets in northern lation of tension, and an lery and drones,” Erdogan gets were destroyed and
sive use of force on Syrian Syria and Iraq over the escalation of tension not said: “Know that as soon as many militants were killed.
territory.” weekend, in retaliation for only in the north, but also in possible, we will root out all A Syria war monitoring
Kurdish-led Syrian Demo- a deadly Nov. 13 bomb- the entire territory of Syria,” of them together with our group said 35 people were
cratic Forces later said ing in Istanbul that Ankara Lavrentyev was quoted tanks and soldiers.” killed in airstrikes over the
fresh Turkish airstrikes on blames on the militant as saying by the Russian Erdogan continued: “From weekend 18 Kurdish fight-
Tuesday struck a base that groups. The groups have state news agencies in the now on, there is only one ers, 16 Syrian government
the group shares with the denied involvement in the Kazakh capital, Astana, measure for us. There is only soldiers and a local journal-
U.S.-led coalition in the fight bombing. The airstrikes also ahead of talks on Syria. one border. (And that is) ist.
against the Islamic State hit several Syrian army po- Turkish President Recep the safety of our own coun- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry
group. The base is just out- sitions in three provinces Tayyip Erdogan has said try, our own citizens. It is our Peskov said Tuesday that
side the town of Qamishli, along the border with Tur- Turkey’s actions would not most legitimate right to go Moscow views Turkey’s se-
50 kilometers (30 miles) key, and killed and wound- be limited to aerial strikes, where this security is en- curity concerns “with un-
from the Turkish border. Two ed a number of Syrian sol- suggesting a possible new sured.” derstanding and respect”
SDF fighters were killed and diers, Syrian officials said. incursion a position he re- Turkey has launched three but also urges Ankara to
three were wounded, the “We will, of course, call on iterated on Tuesday. major incursions into north- “refrain from steps that
group said. our Turkish colleagues to “We have been on top of ern Syria since 2016 and al- could lead to a serious de-
Turkey carried out airstrikes show a certain restraint in the terrorists for the past few ready controls some Syrian stabilization of the situation
on suspected Kurdish mili- order to prevent an esca- days with our planes, artil- territory in the north. in general.” q

U.S. Navy probe: Iranian drone struck Israeli-linked tanker

DUBAI, United Arab Emir- have concluded that an bomb an oil tanker linked dence was taken to a lab and destabilizing maritime
ates (AP) — Investigators Iranian drone was used to to an Israeli billionaire last at the headquarters of the security in the Middle East,”
week, the U.S. Navy said on U.S. Fifth Fleet in the Gulf said Vice Adm. Brad Coo-
Tuesday. Arab nation of Bahrain. per, commander of U.S.
The drone attack on the Navy investigators con- Naval Forces Central Com-
Liberian-flagged oil tanker cluded that the drone used mand.
Pacific Zircon last Tuesday was an Iranian Shahed-136, The Pacific Zircon is oper-
off the coast of Oman ap- the same kind of bomb- ated by Singapore-based
pears to be part of the carrying drone Iran has Eastern Pacific Shipping,
long-running shadow war supplied to Russia in its war which is a company ulti-
between Israel and its on Ukraine. Iranian drones mately owned by Israeli
archenemy Iran that has were used by Yemeni reb- billionaire Idan Ofer. Israeli
included the targeting of els to attack Saudi Arabia and U.S. officials said at the
Israeli-linked ships in strate- and the United Arab Emir- time of the attack that they
gic Mideast waterways. ates earlier this year, the suspected Iran was behind
The Navy said explosives Navy said. it.
experts boarded the ship to “The Iranian attack on a Iran has denied any in-
assess the damage, includ- commercial tanker transit- volvement in the attack,
This undated photo made available by Nabeel Hashmi ing a 30-inch-wide (76-cen- ing international waters was with its mission to the United
shows Liberian-flagged oil tanker Pacific Zircon, operated by timeter) hole punched in its deliberate, flagrant and Nations dismissing the alle-
Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping in Jebel Ali port, in side, and to collect debris dangerous, endangering gations as “false news” in a
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Aug. 16, 2015.
Associated Press and bomb residue. The evi- the lives of the ship’s crew statement last week. q