BEIRUT, Lebanon — Turkey launched a planned military incursion into northeastern Syria on Wednesday aimed at flushing out a Syrian militia backed by the United States, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote on Twitter. Mr. Erdogan said the operation aimed to “prevent the creation of a terror corridor across our southern border,” but provided no other information about where Turkish forces had entered Syria or how far in they would go. Earlier Wednesday, a Syrian militia backed by the United States had mobilized its forces and warned of a “humanitarian catastrophe” as Turkey massed troops near the countries’ border for an incursion it said would begin “shortly.”Turkey’s planned move to root out Kurdish militants in northeastern Syria, after the United States withdrew its forces from two observation posts near the border, has sparked fierce debates in Washington and could open a dangerous new front in Syria’s eight-year-old war.

Source: New York Times October 09, 2019 09:00 UTC