Turkey: Preparations ‘complete’ for Syria military action
Al JazeeraAl Jazeera confirms movement of Turkish forces and heavy weapons along the border with Syria. “It’s very difficult to predict when any military operation might start.” Gabriel Kino, an SDF spokesman, said the militia was ready to take on Turkish forces. We have a moral responsibility to the Kurds because without them we would not have destroyed the caliphate.” Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said it was Turkey’s fundamental right to take necessary measures for its national security against “threats” from Syria. A Trump administration official, briefing reporters on a conference call, said 50 American troops in the region that Turkey has targeted would be redeployed elsewhere in Syria “where they aren’t in the crossfire”. “Zarif voiced opposition to military action” and “urged respect for Syria’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty”, he was quoted as saying in a foreign ministry statement issued late Monday.