Security Council 'concerned' by Turkish shelling of Syrian Kurds
Security Council 'concerned' by Turkish shelling of Syrian Kurds
The UN Security Council on Tuesday expressed concern over Turkey's shelling of Kurdish troops in Syria and called on Ankara to abide by international law.
2 min read
Turkish forces have been shelling YPG positions for the past four days [AFP]
The UN Security Council has expressed concern over Turkey's shelling of positions held by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria and called on Turkey to abide by international law.
The closed-door meeting on Tuesday to discuss Turkey's military actions in Syria was called by Russia, according to the council president for February, Venezuela's UN Ambassador Rafael Dario Ramirez Carreno.
"All members of the Security Council are agreed to ask for Turkey to comply with international law," Ramirez Carreno told reporters after the briefing.
"I called on our partners to work with Turkey to stop this unacceptable activity," Russia's Deputy UN Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov told reporters.
Turkey for the past four days has been shelling YPG positions in Syria, which Ankara accuses of being a "terrorist group" allied with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an outlawed group that waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state, and which has seen a brutal crackdown from Ankara upon its supporters.
Turkey also fears that the YPG advance close to its borders is a bid to unite the Kurdish town of Afrin in western Aleppo province with Kurdish areas to the east, in a bid to build a semi-autonomous region stretching across north and northeast Syria.
However, the Turkish shelling does not seem to have slowed the Kurdish advance, as YPG forces seized Tal Rifaat, a key rebel bastion in northern Aleppo province, from mostly Islamist rebel forces on Monday night.
In recent days, the YPG also seized the Minnigh airbase from rebels, which, coupled with the Russian-backed regime advance on opposition forces in Aleppo province has served a huge blow to the rebels.
Turkey is strongly opposed to the creation of a united Kurdish region along its border with Syria, and has warned that it is willing to intervene to halt the project.
The closed-door meeting on Tuesday to discuss Turkey's military actions in Syria was called by Russia, according to the council president for February, Venezuela's UN Ambassador Rafael Dario Ramirez Carreno.
"All members of the Security Council are agreed to ask for Turkey to comply with international law," Ramirez Carreno told reporters after the briefing.
"I called on our partners to work with Turkey to stop this unacceptable activity," Russia's Deputy UN Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov told reporters.
Turkey for the past four days has been shelling YPG positions in Syria, which Ankara accuses of being a "terrorist group" allied with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an outlawed group that waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state, and which has seen a brutal crackdown from Ankara upon its supporters.
Turkey also fears that the YPG advance close to its borders is a bid to unite the Kurdish town of Afrin in western Aleppo province with Kurdish areas to the east, in a bid to build a semi-autonomous region stretching across north and northeast Syria.
However, the Turkish shelling does not seem to have slowed the Kurdish advance, as YPG forces seized Tal Rifaat, a key rebel bastion in northern Aleppo province, from mostly Islamist rebel forces on Monday night.
In recent days, the YPG also seized the Minnigh airbase from rebels, which, coupled with the Russian-backed regime advance on opposition forces in Aleppo province has served a huge blow to the rebels.
Turkey is strongly opposed to the creation of a united Kurdish region along its border with Syria, and has warned that it is willing to intervene to halt the project.
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