Small Wars Journal

Turkey-Syria Offensive: Erdogan Rejects US Ceasefire Call

Wed, 10/16/2019 - 12:17am

Turkey-Syria Offensive: Erdogan Rejects US Ceasefire Call – BBC News

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected a US call for an immediate ceasefire in northern Syria, saying Turkey's offensive will continue.

His comments come as US Vice-President Mike Pence and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo prepare to fly to Turkey to try to broker a truce.

On Tuesday, Russia warned that it would not allow clashes to take place between Turkish and Syrian forces.

Turkey says its offensive aims to push Kurdish forces from the border region.

It considers elements of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) a terrorist organisation.

Ankara also says it wants to create a "safe zone" reaching about 30km (20 miles) into Syria to resettle up to two million Syrian refugees currently in Turkey.

However, Syrian forces - which are backed by Russia - advanced north at the weekend following a deal with the Kurds to try to hold back the Turkish operation…

Read on.