Erdogan vows no let-up in Syria campaign as US tensions rise

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Turkey had a right to defend itself but emphasised “this has to be done in a proportionate and measured way”.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim hit out at the US, saying “the country we call an ‘ally’ in NATO is in cahoots with terror organisations”.

Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said that if the US wanted to “avoid a confrontation with Turkey — which neither they nor Turkey want — the way to this is clear: they must cut support given to terrorists”.

– ‘Risks giving life to IS’ –
The US envoy to the coalition against IS, Brett McGurk, said on Twitter the “prolonged operation risks giving life to ISIS (IS) as it’s on verge of defeat”.

Washington has more than 2,000 special forces and support troops inside Syria, mainly east of the Euphrates in an area also controlled by the YPG but separate from Afrin, which is west of the river.

A Pentagon spokesman said US and Turkish military commanders had in the past years discussed the possibility of creating a “secure zone” along the border with Syria, but no decision was made.

An AFP correspondent saw tanks on the Turkish side of the border and soldiers ready to go into Syria amid tight security. Turkish artillery fire pounded the Afrin region, state-run news agency Anadolu said.

A Turk and a Syrian were killed Wednesday by YPG rocket fire on Kilis, its governor said. The YPG has denied shelling Turkish border towns like Kilis.

Hundreds attended their funeral on Thursday.

Three Turkish soldiers have been killed since the start of the offensive, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said 52 Ankara-backed Syrian rebels and 47 US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and YPG fighters had been killed.

The SDF is an umbrella grouping composed mainly of YPG.

The Turkish military said at least 306 “terror organisation members were neutralised” but it was not possible to verify this.

The Observatory has said at least 30 civilians have been killed but Ankara strongly rejects such claims, saying it is doing everything to avoid civilian casualties.