From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 15, 2018
Turkey’s Erdogan to ‘drown’ US-backed Syrian Kurdish force
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleBEIRUT — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vows to “drown” a 30,000-strong border Syrian Kurdish border security force that the United States is setting up.
Erdogan accuses NATO ally US of forming a “terrorist force” at Turkey’s border. Ankara considers the Syrian Kurdish militia as a terror group, claiming it is affiliated with Turkey’s own outlawed Kurdish rebels fighting against the government.
The Turkish president is speaking at an opening in Ankara on Monday.
He says it’s his government’s “duty is to drown this terrorist force before it is born.”
Erdogan also says Turkey’s military deployed at the border with Syria is now striking Syrian Kurdish fighters heavy artillery, “at the moment hitting them with howitzers and we will continue to strike them.”
— AP
The Times of Israel Community.