TURKISH troops have begun their attack on the Syrian Kurds as pics show dozens of military vehicles heading to the border.
The country fired the first shots against the Kurds by bombing a crucial supply route on the Syria-Iraq border last night.
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Explosions rocked the Syrian border town of Ras al-Ain today
And Turkish President Erdogan today announced the offensive had begun – just days after Donald Trump’s controversial move to pull US troops out, abandoning the West’s allies.
Explosions rocked the border town of Ras al-Ain today, as Turkey unleashed airstrikes and artillery fire.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said Turkish warplanes struck its region in the northeast, sparking “huge panic among people” on Wednesday.
“Turkish warplanes have started to carry out air strikes on civilian areas,” SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said on Twitter.
Erdogan’s jet fighters last night struck the Semalka Border Crossing in a bid to stop Kurdish fighters resupplying their fighters via the route that links the two countries, officials said.
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Clips from the area overnight that reportedly show explosions at Kurdish military bases emerged as theTurkish army massedtroops on the border.
It is believed the explosions show the crossing being obliterated.
The news comes as the Turkish Defense Ministry confirmed its army is now ready to invade to “protect peace and stability” in the region, just hours after Donald Trump green lit the move.
The US president’s decision stunned world leaders and sparked fears it could lead to widespread ethnic cleansing inNorthern Syria.
The move has sparked fears that aSrebrenica -style massacreof the Kurdish population could ensue.
But he defended the withdrawal of US troops adding “the Kurds will now have to figure the situation out”.
Trumpthen added most think he has made the right call despite effectively leaving Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – US allies in fighting ISIS – to fend for themselves.
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He tweeted: “We may be in the process of leaving Syria, but in no way have we Abandoned the Kurds, who are special people and wonderful fighters. Likewise our relationship with Turkey, a NATO and Trading partner, has been very good.
“Turkey already has a large Kurdish population and fully understands that while we only had 50 soldiers remaining in that section of Syria, and they have been removed, any unforced or unnecessary fighting by Turkey will be devastating to their economy and to their very fragile currency.
“We are helping the Kurds financially / weapons.”
Earlier at the White House he said: “People are extremely thrilled because they say it’s time to bring our people back home. We’re not a police force.
“The UK was very thrilled at this decision…many people agree with it very strongly,”he then added.
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BNL Breaking News earlier tweeted: “Reports of Turkish airstrikes on the Kurdish-controlled Semelka border crossing between Syria and Iraq, comes just hours after US withdr aws troops from Syria and ‘allowed Turkish invasion’. “
And Russian state media outlet Sputnik tweeted that Turkish Air Forces struck a Kurdish base in Hasakah, Syria.
However, there were also some reports that both the Kurdish and Turkish media were denying there had been any strikes.
On Monday Trump warned he would “obliterate”Turkey’seconomy if it took action in Syria he considered “off limits”.
Today he praised the Kurds as “special people and wonderful fighters” while denying he had abandoned them.
He then went on to say the US had a “very good” trading partner in Turkey while revealing he is due to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House next month.
However, the US withdrawal will leave the SDF extremely vulnerable to an incursion by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), which sees them as nothing more than terrorists.
“The TSK will never tolerate the establishment of a terror corridor on our borders. All preparations for the operation have been completed,” it said on Twitter this morning .
“It is essential to establish a safe zone / peace corridor to contribute to our region’s peace and stability, and for Syrians to achieve a safe life.”
Earlier today, Turkish-backed Syrian rebel fighters were spotted heading to an area near the Syrian-Turkish border north of Aleppo sparking fears of more clashes.
Trump’s warning on Turkey’s economy appeared aimed at fending off critics who have accused him of abandoning the Kurds –who have been fighting ISIS on the ground in Syria.
The Srebrenica massacre
During the Bosnian War between 1992 to 1995, the Serb army was part of a massive ethnic-cleansing operation.
Thousands of Muslims sought refuge in Srebrenica, which the UN was protecting with Dutch forces.
But the area fell in July 1995 during a Serb offensive led by General Ratko Mladic with approximately 20, 000 Muslims – mostly women and children – seeking safety in the Dutch compound in nearby Potocari.
Serb forces then transported Muslim men to sites around the Srebrenica enclave in eastern Bosnia and gunned them down before
dumping their bodies into mass graves.
They slaughtered 8, 000 Muslim men and boys in Europe’s worst mass murder since the Holocaust.
“Butcher of Bosnia” Ratko Mladic was jailed for life by a UN court after being found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity in 2017.
Former Bosnian Serb warlord Radovan Karadzic was caged for life in March this year after being convicted over the massacre.
The decision drew criticism from Democrats and a rebuke from some of Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
He said an early US withdrawal “would only benefit Russia, Iran” and Syrian President Bashar Assad, who’s waged an eight-year civil war against Syrian opposition forces.
The Kentucky Republican says it would also make it easier for ISIS to rebuild.
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The move to allow Turkey to invade came after Trump was “out negotiated “by President Erdogan,Newsweek reports.
A US security official, said to have direct knowledge of a conversation between the pair, claims the US president “got rolled” by his Turkish counterpart.
Calling Trump “spineless” he reportedly said his actions have left the US in “a state of increased danger for decades to come” by handing control of the battle-scarred region to Turkey.
The SDF has warned that diverting its forces to fight offErdogan’s troopscould lead to a resurgence of ISIS in the region.
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As many as 15, 000 jihadis currently being held by SDF forces in northern Syria, including at the notorious Al-Hol camp, could be set free in prison breaks carried out by sleeper cells, commanders warned.
While Turkey has assured observers that it will not allow ISIS to return “in any shape or form”, experts believe its actions could lead to a resurgence.
Among the 15, 000 prisoners are thought to be 2, 500 foreign fighters, largely from European countries, who could return home if freed.
US pulls its troops from border between north-eastern Syria and Turkey ahead of Turkish military operation against Kurdish-led militia alliance
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Donald Trump vows to ‘obliterate’ Turkey’s economy if it carries out feared Srebrenica-style genocide of Kurds in Syria after he ‘let them invade ‘
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