Northern Syria: Juncker calls on Turkey to stop the military offensive

"I urge Turkey and other actors to act with restraint and stop the mission that has already started": EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has spoken to Turkey in very clear terms. He called on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stop the military operation against Kurdish militias in northern Syria. If the plans of Turkey include the establishment of a "security zone", the EU will not participate financially.

Previously, the federal government had already warned clearly against a military offensive in northern Syria. A military intervention by Turkey could lead to a further escalation in Syria and to an additional destabilization of the country, said the deputy government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer shortly after the announcement of the invasion plans. "Of course, it would also have fatal security and humanitarian consequences."

Erdogan had announced on Wednesday the start of the operation. Our armed forces, together with the Syrian national army in northern Syria, have begun Operation Source of Peace against the PKK / YPG and DEAS terrorist organizations, "he wrote on Twitter, aiming at a Kurdish YPG militia on the Syrian side of the border Turkey sees in it an offshoot of the banned Kurdish workers' party PKK and understands the members of the militia as terrorists.

The Turkish Armed Forces, together with the Syrian National Army, just launched #OperationPeaceSpring against PKK / YPG and Daesh terrorists in northern Syria. Our mission is to prevent the creation of a terror corridor across our southern border, and to bring peace to the area.

Thousands of Syrian militiamen are also expected to take part in the new offensive. A spokesman for the brigade Anwar al-Hak said 18,000 fighters should participate in the first phase of the offensive. Thousands of militants of the Syrian National Army were waiting for their deployment in the Turkish border town of Akcakale in a former refugee camp.

Spokesperson Abdelrahman Ghasi Dadeh said 8,000 fighters would attack Tal Abjad, a Syrian border town across from Akcakale, while 10,000 more would attack the city of Ras al-Ain further east. An unspecified number of fighters should therefore be mobilized for a later attack on the city of Kobane. All three cities are currently controlled by the YPG militia.