The US State Department has called on Turkey not to take any military action in Syria’s northwestern region of Afrin.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert on Thursday urged Ankara to remain focused on fighting Daesh terrorists in the region.
Asked about reports that Turkey was making preparations to launch military strikes in Afrin, Nauert told reporters, “We would call … on the Turks to not take any actions of that sort. … We don’t want them to engage in violence but we want them to keep focused on ISIS [Daesh].”
The comments came after Ankara said Turkish forces will intervene in Afrin to counter Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militants.
Ankara views the YPG as the Syrian branch of the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that has been fighting for an autonomous region inside Turkey since 1984.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said earlier in the day that the recent statements from the United…