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On Friday, October 11, 2019 in Syria, US troops found themselves under fire from Turkish positions near the northern city of Kobane, according to a Pentagon spokesman.
The incident occurred around 9:00 pm local time, according to US authorities, outside the "security zone" that Turkey aims to establish along its border to separate the latter from territories controlled by the Kurdish militia. Protecting the People (YPG), a " terrorist " group in Ankara's eyes. The artillery fire did not hurt on the American side, according to Pentagon spokesman Captain Brook DeWalt.
The statement of the latter speaks of an " explosion ", in an area where the Turks are nevertheless " informed of the presence of US forces ." " The United States remains opposed to the Turkish military intervention in Syria, and stands particularly against Turkish operations outside the security zone and in areas where the Turks are informed of the presence of US troops ," writes Captain DeWalt.
► See also: The bombing of the Turkish army pushed 100,000 civilians to flee
On Friday, Turkey intensified its deadly bombing against Kurdish targets in Syria. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the offensive will continue. In its statement, Washington warns Ankara that " avoid any action that can lead to an immediate response ." And to recall that the United States is still militarily present in Syria, that their troops " did not withdraw from Kobane ".
At first, Donald Trump seemed to give the go-ahead to the Turkish operation, withdrawing US soldiers from Syrian border areas. But the president of the United States has subsequently blown hot and cold, threatening in particular to " annihilate " the Turkish economy if Ankara " exceeded the limits ". After the incident on Friday, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that it stopped firing as soon as it was warned by its ally.
During a telephone interview, the French president told his American counterpart that it was necessary that the Turkish offensive, launched Wednesday, stop as soon as possible. According to the Élysée, Emmanuel Macron " stressed the need first and foremost
to prevent any resurgence of Daesh in the region, to support those who fought on the ground with us against the terrorists and to protect the civilian population . "
The United States does not feel responsible or supportive of the Turkish operation
On the side of Washington, we defend ourselves from having given a discharge in Ankara. " On the contrary, " says the US Secretary of Defense, " we have lobbied very hard at all levels so that the Turks do not start this operation, " he added. His counterpart in the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, announced from the White House that Donald Trump had authorized the preparation of new sanctions " very important " against Turkey.
These sanctions " may be aimed at any person associated with the Turkish Government, and any member of the Government. These are primary and secondary sanctions. The President is concerned about the ongoing military offensive and the targeting of civilians, civilian infrastructure, ethnic and religious minorities. The president also wants to make it very clear to the Turks that not a single fighter of the Islamic State should escape. "
Operation "Source of Peace" has thrown nearly 100,000 people on the roads. The balance sheet amounts to a hundred deaths, according to the NGO Observatoire Syrien des Droits de l'Homme (OSDH). The World Food Program fears that the humanitarian crisis, already critical, is worsening. " Fears, of course, include, among other things, the duration of the offensive and the strength of the latter and the impact on civilians, " Hervé Verhoosel, spokesman, told RFI.
► To listen too: Why Donald Trump " loose " the Kurds ?
" What interests us especially," he adds, " are the civilians who flee. Either who stay in the areas in question, or who are fleeing these areas, but who, in either case, will need humanitarian support - and for the World Food Program - food support. There will, of course, be food supply problems, displacement problems, market supply, water problems, and so on. "
And to conclude that WFP will have to increase the aid it already provides: " In the north-east of Syria, for the moment, the World Food Program each time already provides food aid to 650,000 people just in In this north-eastern region, 580,000 of them are currently living in Kurdish-controlled areas, and therefore in areas at risk, for the time being. "
Several organizations call for rallies Saturday in Paris, Republic Square, in support of the Kurds of Syria and against the Turkish offensive 12/10/2019 - by Pierre Olivier Listen