Turkey Confirms Military Strikes Against Syrian Forces, Warns of ‘Massive Escalation’ in Syria Over Next 24 Hours
Turkey confirms attacks against SAA and Kurdish forces in Syria — and says more is coming
Turkey has also confirmed strikes against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). Ankara claims the attacks (mostly likely shelling, but it’s not 100% clear) were in retaliation for mortar fire from Syrian forces. While this scenario isn’t impossible, most likely Turkey is looking to provoke the Syrians into firing the first shot — then a direct military intervention would be “justified” in the eyes of NATO/The New York Times.
Well, Turkey might just get what it wants:
Syrian Democratic Forces SDF have warned #Turkey that they will retaliate if artillery attacks continue… #Twitterkurds #Rojava
— curdistani (@curdistani) February 13, 2016
For its part, the US has allegedly asked Turkey to stop attacking Kurdish and SAA forces:
#BREAKING U.S. asks Turkey to stop the bombing of the Kurds and the forces of the regime in Syria
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) February 13, 2016
Whether the request is genuine is another story. Russia however, seems to be completely unamused by Ankara’s latest shenanigans. According to sources in Damascus:
http://twitter.com/ScotMikey1111/status/698636104375775232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Turkey is now warning of a “massive escalation” in Syria over the next 24 hours. Make sure to check back with us regularly for updates.