Turkish offensive in Syria: Erdogan determined to continue the assault

Turkish forces on Friday intensified their deadly bombings of Kurdish targets in northern Syria, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying the offensive would continue despite US warnings.

Since the beginning of the Turkish onslaught on sectors controlled by a Syrian Kurdish militia, 54 Kurdish fighters and 17 civilians have died according to an NGO, and 100,000 people have fled their homes, according to the UN. Ankara announced the death of four soldiers in Syria and 17 civilians in the fall of Kurdish rockets at border towns in Turkey.

With this offensive that has sparked an international outcry, Turkey, neighboring Syria at war, seeks to establish a "security zone" 32 kilometers deep along its border to separate it from the territories controlled by the militia of the People's Protection Units (YPG) which it describes as "terrorist".

Turkish air raids continued Friday night mainly on the town of Kobane, in the Kurdish autonomous region established in the Syrian conflict, said an NGO, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH).

"Intense fighting mainly from Tal Abyad to Ras al-Ain", border cities, oppose Turkish troops and their local allies to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) whose YPG, backed by the West, are the backbone, according to the NGO.

Using the tunnels and trenches, the FDS are trying to curb the advance of Turkish troops who took Thursday 11 villages, two of which have since been taken over by the Kurds, according to the OSDH.

The Pentagon said that American soldiers near Kobane were under fire from Turkish artillery, but none were wounded.

"Very strong sanctions"

Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain, almost completely deserted by their inhabitants, are the most affected, according to a press center affiliated with local Kurdish authorities. Arab tribes who joined the Turkish forces led attacks by activating dormant cells.

"No matter what some say, we will not stop this" operation, said Erdogan during a speech in Istanbul. "We now receive threats to the right and to the left, we are told + Stop +. (…) We will not go back."

"We will continue our fight until all the terrorists have descended south of 32 kilometers" planned for the "safe zone", he said.

After seeming to give the go-ahead to this operation by removing US soldiers from border areas in northern Syria, President Donald Trump blew the hot and cold, threatening to "annihilate" the Turkish economy if Ankara "exceeded terminals".

This US withdrawal was perceived as a betrayal by Kurdish forces, previously allied with the international coalition led by Washington in the fight against the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) which was defeated in March with the loss of its last stronghold in Syria.

On Friday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Donald Trump had authorized, but not yet activated, "very strong sanctions" against Turkey that could "neutralize" his economy.

The United States on Friday presented a statement to the UN Security Council asking Ankara "to stop its military operation." But the text was blocked by Russia and China.

In a telephone conversation with Mr Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron called for a halt to the Turkish offensive "as soon as possible".

NGOs have warned of a new humanitarian disaster in Syria where the war, which has become more complex with the intervention of multiple regional and international actors, has claimed more than 370,000 lives since 2011 and displaced millions of people.

Attack of the IS

Several countries, mostly European, are concerned about the fate of civilians, but also about the IS members detained by Kurdish forces who may flee.

Seeming to confirm these fears, the Kurdish authorities said on Friday that five IS jihadists had escaped from a prison near the predominantly Kurdish town of Qamichli (north-east) after Turkish raids.

In addition, a riot broke out in the Kurdish-controlled Al-Hol camp, home to thousands of families of suspected jihadists.

And IS claimed responsibility for an attack in Qamichli that killed six people.

According to the Turkish media, Ankara wants to take control of the band between Ras al-Ain and Tal Abyad in order to move the YPG away from the border.

Turkey, which has already led two offensives in northern Syria, one in 2016 against the IS and the YPG and in 2018 against the YPG, would eventually install in the "security zone" that she wishes introduce some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees living on its soil.

By tens of thousands, the Kurds fled their homes, finding refuge in bomb-free cities like Hassaké and Tall Tamr, further south.

"America has sold us," jailed Jihane, a displaced mother in Hassake, angrily.