Trump seeks ceasefire as hundreds die

Turkish warplanes and artillery have hit Kurdish targets in Syria on the third day of an offensive that has killed hundreds.

Young Kurds arrive in the Syrian town of Tal Tamr town after fleeing the Turkish bombardment. Picture: AFP

Donald Trump ordered US diplomats to broker a ceasefire as Turkish warplanes and artillery hit Kurdish militia targets in northeast Syria on the third day of an ­offensive that has killed hundreds of people and forced tens of thousands to flee.

Since Mr Trump pulled US troops out of the way following a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the incursion has opened a new front in the eight-year Syrian civil war and drawn fierce global criticism.

“We have one of three choices: Send in thousands of troops and win Militarily, hit Turkey very hard Financially and with Sanctions, or mediate a deal between Turkey and the Kurds!” Mr Trump said in a Twitter post on Friday.

“I hope we can mediate,” Mr Trump said when asked about the options at the White House.

Without elaborating, Mr Trump said the US was “going to possibly do something very, very tough with respect to sanctions and other ­financial things” against Turkey.

A US official said Mr Trump had asked American diplomats to broker a ceasefire.

Stung by criticism from the EU and fellow NATO members, including Norway that said it was suspending arms shipments to Turkey, Mr Erdogan threatened to permit Syrian refugees in Turkey to move to Europe if EU countries described his forces’ move as an occupation. Turkey hosts about 3.6 million people who have fled the Syrian war.

On Friday, Turkish jets and ­artillery struck around Syria’s Ras al Ain, one of two border towns that have been the focus of the ­offensive. Gunfire could also be heard inside the town from Ceylanpinar, on the Turkish side of the border. A convoy of 20 armoured vehicles carrying Syrian rebels ­entered Syria from Ceylanpinar on Friday. About 120km west, Turkish howitzers resumed shelling the Syrian town of Tel Abyad.

Turkey’s Defence Ministry said that in overnight operations on Thursday the Turkish military and its Syrian rebel allies killed 49 Kurdish militants. It said it had killed 277 militants in total. The ministry said one Turkish soldier was killed in a clash on Thursday during the offensive, targeting the Syrian Democratic Forces, led by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia.

Kurds said they were resisting the assault. At least 23 fighters with the SDF and six fighters with a Turkish-backed Syrian rebel group had been killed, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war.

Turkey says the operation is necessary for border security against the YPG, which it designates a terrorist group because of ties to militants who have waged a decades-old insurgency in southeast Turkey in which more than 40,000 people have been killed.

Ankara has also said it intends to create a safe zone for the return of millions of refugees to Syria.

The SDF have been the main allies of US forces on the ground in the battle against Islamic State since 2014. They have been holding thousands of captured ISIS fighters in prisons and tens of thousands of their relatives in detention. SDF forces were still in control of all prisons with ISIS captives, a senior US State Department official said.

The US has received a high-level commitment from Turkey on taking responsibility for ISIS captives but had not yet had detailed discussions, the official said.

US congress members have said Mr Trump gave Mr Erdogan the green light to go into Syria but the official disputed that. “We gave them a very clear red light, I’ve been involved in those red lights and I know the President did that on Sunday,” the official said.

The SDF said Turkish airstrikes and shelling had killed nine civilians. In apparent retaliation by Kurdish-led forces, six people including a nine-month-old were killed by mortar fire into Turkish towns, Turkish officials said.

The International Rescue Committee said 64,000 people in Syria had fled.

International condemnation of the Turkish assault was overwhelming and the response to the operation was discussed in an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. UN secretary general Antonio Guterres expressed “deep concern”, while the ­Security Council’s five European members urged Turkey “to cease the unilateral military action”.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called for an emergency meeting of the US-led coalition against ISIS. Kurdish forces lost 11,000 personnel in the battle to eliminate the “caliphate” ISIS had set up in the region.

Reuters