Turkey's incursion heading for potential clash with Syrian troops

As the Syrian government troops have started moving towards northeastern Syria, the situation is heading for a potential clash with Turkish forces. The Syrian offensive by the Turkish forces has entered its sixth day after the United States decided to pull back its troops from northeastern Syria. 

Violence in northeastern Syria

Heavy shelling by Turkish forces has led to deaths of civilians in the northern region and displaced at least 1,30,000 people. “Where is the United Nations? Let them come see the blood of our children on the floor! Why don’t they show up?” cried a medic at the Tal Tamr hospital. Meanwhile, the Kurdish fighters said that they sealed a deal with Bashar Assad’s government to help stop Turkey from making inroads Syria and causing more damage to the Kurds.

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Criticism from around the world

The Turkish incursion and withdrawal of US troops have been criticised by many countries including India, France and Germany. Criticism from around the world and within the party forced US President Donald Trump to bring new sanctions on Turkey. Trump, in a statement on October 14, said that he will soon be ordering executive order to impose sanctions against current and former officials of the Government of Turkey and anyone contributing to Turkey’s “destabilizing actions in northeast Syria”.   

“The United States will aggressively use economic sanctions to target those who enable, facilitate, and finance these heinous acts in Syria. I am fully prepared to destroy Turkey’s economy if Turkish leaders continue down this dangerous and destructive path,” said Trump through a statement.

Read: Kurds In Iran Protest Against Turkey's Military Invasion In Syria

Opposing voices within the party

Senate leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican breaking away from the party line, expressed his concerns on the response of the US on the Syrian crisis.

“For years, the United States and our Syrian Kurdish partners have fought heroically to corner ISIS and destroy its physical caliphate. Abandoning this fight now and withdrawing U.S. forces from Syria would re-create the very conditions that we have worked hard to destroy and invite the resurgence of ISIS,” said McConnell in a statement.

“And such a withdrawal would also create a broader power vacuum in Syria that will be exploited by Iran and Russia, a catastrophic outcome for the United States’ strategic interests,” he added.

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(With AP Inputs)