The Turkish military continued its offensive to clear Kurdish and Islamic State (IS) militants away from its borders by launching an attack on Kurdish fighters on Thursday.
After entering the Syrian border town of Jarablus as part of the "Euphrates Shield" operation alongside Syrian rebel fighters, the Turkish military opened fire at Kurdish fighters of the People's Protection Units (YPG) on Thursday, according to local media.
Reports said that Turkish forces fired on a YPG unit north of Manbij, another Syrian town controlled by the U.S.-allied YPG, after intelligence showed that YPG militants were advancing despite a promise by the U.S. that the Kurdish militia would retreat.
A Turkish security official said the presence of IS or the Syrian wing of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in the Syrian town near the Turkish border was "unacceptable."
"Euphrates Shield" is Turkey's first major military operation into Syria, aimed at securing its border from IS and pushing back the YPG.
"Turkey will not tolerate any Kurdish entity at its border. We consider this a great threat to our national security," said Binali Yildirim, the Turkish Prime Minister
Many Turks have welcomed their country's military action, with tensions high after an attack at a wedding ceremony in the Turkish city of Gaziantep last Saturday left 54 dead.
"It's good that the army went in. They are bombing us, and our citizens are dying, our citizens are scared. They are bombing our weddings. So we will attack too," said Mehmet Cingis, a Turkish farmer from Gaziantep.
The YPG declared in a statement on Thursday that they have pulled back from Manbij to prepare for another move on the IS, after Turkey and the U.S. warned the armed wing of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) to return to the east of the Euphrates river.
The YPG, a part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, has been a partner in the U.S.-led campaign against the so-called Islamic State in Syria. More on: [ Ссылка ]
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