In Just 24 Hours: 181 Targets Hit in Turkish Offensive in Northeastern Syria

(Patria) – The Turkish Armed Forces launched the "Peace Spring" offensive in northeastern Syria on Wednesday.

Explosions were recorded in the city of Ras al Ain in northeastern Syria, right on the border with Turkey. The population is also fleeing the Syrian border town of Tel Abyad, where explosions can also be heard.

Since the beginning of the operation, a total of 181 positions held by militants have been hit from the air and by howitzers, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced.

Spokesperson for the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mustafa Bali, announced on Twitter that Kurdish forces had faced and "repelled an attack" by Turkish infantry.

Representatives of the Kurdish forces later reported that Turkish air forces had hit one of the prisons holding ISIL fighters.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are demanding a no-fly zone to "stop attacks on innocent people" and announced via Twitter that Turkish planes are bombing military positions and civilians.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims that the "Peace Spring" operation aims to eliminate the threat posed by the Kurdish paramilitary YPG forces, as well as ISIL militants. The operation also aims to enable the return of Syrian refugees from Turkey after the formation of a safe zone in the area.

"Our goal is to prevent the creation of a terror corridor along our southern border and to bring peace to the area," Erdogan said via Twitter, adding: "We will preserve the territorial integrity of Syria and liberate local communities from terrorists."

This confirmed earlier speculation that Turkey is using the American withdrawal to launch an attack on Kurdish forces in Syria who fought alongside American forces against ISIL there.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview that "the US did not give Turkey the green light" for the offensive. He then added that "the Turks have a legitimate reason to be concerned about security" because "they have a terrorist threat to the south."

The US alliance with the Kurds in Syria is one of the causes of long-standing tensions between the US and Turkey, which Trump's Twitter post the previous day threatening to "totally destroy the Turkish economy" if the country did anything "unacceptable" in that context – could only deepen.

President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker stated that Turkey must stop the offensive, warning that the EU will not approve financial aid for the "safe zone."

"Turkey must stop the military operation. It cannot do so. And if Turkey plans to create a safe zone, it should not expect financial aid from the European Union," Juncker said in an address to the European Parliament in Brussels.

French Minister for European Affairs Amelie de Montchalin stated that France, Great Britain, and Germany are demanding a UN Security Council meeting to discuss the Turkish offensive.

She also said that the three countries are finalizing a joint statement in which the Turkish offensive is "strongly condemned," but that a separate EU statement still needs to be agreed upon as some countries have not signed it.

French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly warned that the move could lead to the revival of the so-called Islamic State, while US Democrats like Nancy Pelosi, as well as some Republicans like Nikki Haley, Lindsey Graham, and Mitch McConnell, fiercely condemned President Trump's decision, believing he had abandoned Kurdish allies.

A US Republican senator, concerned about the fate of the Kurds in the region, announced a "devastating" package of sanctions against Turkey for the military operation.

World leaders expressed concern that the Turkish invasion could worsen the war in Syria and destabilize the entire region.

Trump responded to accusations that he had left the Kurds "at the mercy of Turkey" with a public threat to "destroy Turkey" if it did anything "unacceptable," but soon changed his tone and praised it as a trading partner.

Explaining the decision to withdraw troops, the White House also announced that the US will no longer hold captured ISIL fighters "as it could take several years and cost our taxpayers significantly."

Turkey has long been concerned about its border with Syria, as fighting takes place in its immediate vicinity between Kurdish forces such as the YPG and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against ISIL.

However, the sister organization of the Kurdish YPG, the PKK, which operates as a separatist group in southern Turkey, is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara, the US, and the EU.

The ceasefire between the PKK and Ankara lasted until 2015, since which time the organization has continued numerous rebellions and attacks within the country.