US President Donald Trump reacted strongly to the announcement of the Turkish offensive against Kurds in northeastern Syria on Wednesday (October 9th).
"I hope he will act rationally," Donald Trump told the White House on Wednesday when he spoke of the Turkish offensive against Kurds in northeastern Syria, announced a few hours earlier by Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "We will see how he leads (this operation)," he added.
Asked by a journalist to say whether he feared that the Turkish president would destroy the Kurds, the US president replied "I will destroy their economy if this happens" .
"Thousands of displaced" and a dozen dead
On Wednesday, neighboring regions of Turkey, including the Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain areas, were bombed by Turkish aviation and artillery. The Turkish Ministry of Defense then announced in the evening that Turkish troops and their Syrian counterparts had entered Syria, marking the onset of the ground phase of the operation. But Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), dominated by Kurds of People's Protection Units (YPG), said Wednesday night they "pushed back" the Turkish offensive
The Turkish operation - whose goal is to remove the powerful Syrian Kurdish militia from the People's Protection Units (YPG) - has already killed 15 people, including 8 civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has announced. Man (OSDH), adding that "thousands of displaced" are fleeing the bombed areas.
US senators mobilize
Two Democratic and Republican senators unveiled on Wednesday a proposal to punish Turkey severely if it does not withdraw its army from Syria in the wake of its ongoing operation against Kurdish forces.
The plan would force Donald Trump's government to freeze US property from Turkey's top leaders, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and impose sanctions on any foreign entity that sells arms to Ankara.
The punitive measures would also target the Turkish energy sector, according to the text posted on Twitter by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, usually close to President Trump but very against his position in the current crisis, and by his Democratic colleague Chris Van Hollen.
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Offensive in Syria. Trump ready "to destroy the Turkish economy" if Ankara "destroys the Kurds" West-France.frENLARGE