Damascus slams Turkey’s incursion into Syria

Syria’s government denounces the Turkish military incursion into its territory, describing it a “blatant violation” of Syrian sovereignty by Turkey.

According to the state-run news agency SANA, the government says in a statement that “any move to combat terrorism on Syrian territories should have been coordinated with the Syrian government and army.”

The statement also calls for an immediate end to the Turkish “aggression,” which it says is being carried out under the pretext of fighting terrorism.

“Fighting terrorism cannot be undertaken by ousting Daesh [Islamic State] and replacing it with other terrorist organizations directly backed by Turkey,” it says, calling Islamic State by its Arabic acronym.

The statement adds that Turkish tanks and armored personnel carriers crossed into Syria under the cover of US-led coalition airstrikes.

— AP