Just now Minister of Finance Steven Mnuchin threatened because of the Turkish invasion of Syria with harsh sanctions. Recent reports from the Syrian-Turkish border area are unlikely to contribute to the relief of the situation. According to information from the US Department of Defense, American troops came under fire from Turkish artillery there.
"A few hundred meters" away, there had been an explosion, said the Pentagon. Accordingly, no US soldiers were injured. Apparently, one does not want to believe in coincidence or oversight in the USA.
The incident on Friday night (local time) near the border town of Kobane had occurred in an area "the Turks know that US forces are present there," the Pentagon said.
"Right to self-defense": clear statement from the US
"The US forces have not withdrawn from Kobane," clarified a Pentagon spokesman. The United States remains firmly opposed to the Turkish military offensive in Syria - and especially to Turkish operations "in areas where the Turks are aware of US soldiers". The spokesman added, "The US demands that Turkey avoid actions that could lead to an immediate defense response." The US broadcaster ABC News reported that the special forces had been removed from their post after the incident.
Hours earlier, US Army chief Mark Milley had said that the Turkish military had been informed of the positions of American troops in the region. "And everyone is fully aware that as the US military, we reserve the right to self-defense."
The Turkish Ministry of Defense said in a statement that Turkish border guards had been bombarded south of the city of Suruc from hills about a kilometer from a US observation post. "As an act of self-defense" the counter-fire was opened on the positions of the "terrorists" - by which the Turkish government usually means Kurdish militias.
In the video: "People do not know where they could escape"
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Turkey speaks of "precautionary measures"
It was by no means shot in any form on the US observation post, it said in the statement. "All precautions have been taken before the counter-fire has been opened to avoid damage to the US base." According to feedback from the US, the bombardment was finally closed "as a precautionary measure".
The Turkish military offensive in northern Syria had begun on Wednesday afternoon. Shortly before, the US had stated that they would withdraw their remaining units from the crisis area. The Turkish action is directed against the Kurdish YPG militia, which controls a large area on the Syrian side of the border. Turkey sees in it an offshoot of the banned Kurdish workers' party PKK and thus a terrorist organization. Along the border, Turkey wants to set up a so-called security zone and also settle Syrian refugees there who currently live in Turkey.
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US Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper condemned the "one-sided" invasion that inflicted "dramatic damage" on the relationship between the two countries. The offensive would further destabilize the region.
In fact, the already strained humanitarian situation is further aggravating. In a statement by the UN Emergency Relief Office Ocha and the Humanitarian Coordinator of the United Nations for Syria in Damascus, there were 100,000 displaced people on Friday evening. The UN World Food Program had previously reported that most people had fled the regions of Ras al-Ain and Tall Abjad.
