Small Wars Journal

Turkish Troops Appear to Seize Syrian Town in Fourth Day of Invasion

Sun, 10/13/2019 - 12:59am

Turkish Troops Appear to Seize Syrian Town in Fourth Day of Invasion by David Gauthier-Villars and Raja Abdulrahim – Wall Street Journal

Turkish troops move into a Kurdish-held Syrian town on Saturday, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes as Turkey pursued an invasion of northeastern Syria with heavy artillery and aerial bombardments despite global condemnation and fresh sanction threats from the Trump administration.

Ras al-Ain has been seized, the Turkish Defense Ministry said, as more than 1,000 Syrian fighters backed by Turkey entered the town, according to Turkish military analysts.

The Kurdish-led militia combating Turkey to maintain its grip on northeastern Syria denied the town has fallen under Turkish control.

Turkey’s territorial advance came a day after the Trump administration said it was preparing to impose U.S. sanctions against Ankara for attacking Kurdish forces with whom Washington has allied since 2014 to combat Islamic State…

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