Artillery flashes over sky on Syria-Turkey border

Record ID: 1435991

  • Title: Artillery flashes over sky on Syria-Turkey border
  • Date: 9th October 2019
  • Summary: AKCAKALE, TURKEY (OCTOBER 9, 2019) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) VARIOUS OF FLASHES OF LIGHT ACROSS NIGHT SKY (AUDIO OF ARTILLERY FIRE AND EXPLOSIONS)
  • Embargoed: 23rd October 2019 21:38
  • Keywords: Turkey offensive Syria military operation Akcakale war in Syria
  • Location: AKCAKALE, TURKEY
  • City: AKCAKALE, TURKEY
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
  • Reuters ID: LVA001B0DOG1Z
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Loud explosions and flashes artillery fire lit up the sky over the Syria-Turkey border on Wednesday (October 9) as Turkey launched an offensive against Kurdish militia positions in northeast Syria.
    Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel allies entered northeast Syria on Wednesday night, starting a land offensive against Kurdish militia fighters.
    Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish warplanes and artillery pounded Kurdish YPG targets with air strikes and artillery barrages in a cross-border military operation just days after U.S. troops pulled back from the area.
    The assault on the Kurds - for years Washington's main allies on the ground in Syria - is potentially one of the biggest shifts in years in an eight-year war that has drawn in global and regional powers.
    The Kurds played a leading role in capturing territory from Islamic State, and now hold the largest swathe of Syria outside of Bashar al-Assad's government's hands.
    U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pull forces out of the way was denounced by some Kurds as a "stab in the back" and strongly criticised in Washington, even by loyal senior figures in his own Republican Party.
    Trump called the Turkish assault a "bad idea" and said he did not endorse it. He expected Turkey to protect civilians and religious minorities and prevent a humanitarian crisis, he said.
    (Production: Mert Ozkan, Parniyan Zemaryalai)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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