Does Turkey use unconventional weapons? In any case, this is what the Kurdish authorities claim. "In flagrant violation of international law and treaties, Turkish aggression against (Ras al-Ain) is carried out with all types of weapons," on Thursday, October 17 th the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration, in a statement.

"In the face of the obvious failure of his plan, [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan resorts to internationally banned weapons, such as phosphorus or napalm," the statement said.

Charges against Ankara forces or Syrian surrogates could not be independently verified. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), which has an extensive network of sources on the ground, could not confirm the use of these weapons.

"Injured people with injuries"

But the NGO "has identified wounded suffering from burns who have arrived at the hospital of Tal Tamr these past two days," told AFP the director of the Observatory, Rami Abdel Rahmane, referring to a locality close to Ras al-Ain.

"Everyone knows that there are no chemical weapons in the arsenal of the Turkish armed forces," Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar told reporters in Ankara. He accused the Kurdish forces of "using themselves" chemical weapons in order to accuse Ankara.

Since the launch of their offensive against a Syrian Kurdish militia on 9 October, Turkish troops and their Syrian counterparts have conquered a 120-kilometer border strip in northern Syria, and fighting is now concentrated in the city of Ras al-Ain.

Kurdish officials have posted on social media a video showing children suffering from burns that, according to a doctor in Hassaké province, can corroborate the use of such weapons.

Calls "to examine injuries"

Throughout the conflict that has ravaged Syria since 2011, the term napalm has been used to describe incendiary bombs made from substances similar to napalm.

White phosphorus can be used in particular to create a smoke screen, but it can also be used for the manufacture of deadly incendiary weapons, a use prohibited by international law.

"We call on international organizations to send their teams to examine the wounds," said Moustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the main coalition dominated by Kurdish forces. "Medical facilities in northeastern Syria no longer have experts after the withdrawal of NGOs caused by the Turkish invasion," he said.

With AFP