- Title: Turkey pushes offensive in Syria, despite sanctions and calls to stop
- Date: 16th October 2019
- Summary: KOBANI, SYRIA (AS FILMED FROM SURUC, TURKEY) (OCTOBER 16, 2019) (REUTERS) BARBED WIRE FENCE AND A MILITARY ZONE SIGN ON TURKISH SIDE OF BORDER WITH SYRIA/VIEW OF SYRIAN CITY OF KOBANI IN THE DISTANCE VARIOUS OF BUILDINGS IN KOBANI AND BORDER OBSERVATION TOWER ON A HILL ON THE SYRIAN SIDE BUILDINGS IN KOBANI ANKARA, TURKEY (OCTOBER 16, 2019) (REUTERS) U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER ROBERT O'BRIEN LEAVING AIRPORT AND GETTING INTO CAR RAS AL AIN, SYRIA (AS FILMED FROM CEYLANPINAR, TURKEY) (OCTOBER 16, 2019) (REUTERS) CLOUDS OF BLACK SMOKE RISING ABOVE BUILDING, ONE WITH BURNING FIRE CLOUDS OF SMOKE RISING ABOVE BUILDINGS
- Embargoed: 30th October 2019 17:45
- Keywords: Syria Kurds Turkey Ras al Ain
- Location: TEL AVIV, ISRAEL / RAS AL AIN AND RAS AL AIN (AS FILMED FROM CEYLANPINAR, TURKEY) , KOBANI (AS FILMED FROM SURUC, TURKEY) AND MANBIJ, SYRIA / ANKARA, CEYLANPINAR AND AKCAKALE , TURKEY / KIEV, UKRAINE
- City: TEL AVIV, ISRAEL / RAS AL AIN AND RAS AL AIN (AS FILMED FROM CEYLANPINAR, TURKEY) , KOBANI (AS FILMED FROM SURUC, TURKEY) AND MANBIJ, SYRIA / ANKARA, CEYLANPINAR AND AKCAKALE , TURKEY / KIEV, UKRAINE
- Country: Syria
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA004B1CLYYV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A HIGHLIGHTS WRAP OF MATERIAL THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN PUBLISHED. IT DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY FRESH MATERIAL
Turkey vowed to press ahead with its offensive in northern Syria on Wednesday (October 16) despite U.S. sanctions and growing calls for it to stop, while Syria's Russia-backed army moved into key areas abandoned by U.S. forces.
The Trump administration dispatched its top officials to Turkey on Wednesday for emergency talks to try to persuade Ankara to halt an assault on northern Syria, while Russian troops swept into territory abandoned by Washington in a sudden retreat.
Robert O'Brien, White House national security adviser since last month, arrived in Turkey aiming to meet Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday. Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are expecting to meet the following day with President Tayyip Erdogan.
The administration is trying to contain the fallout from Erdogan's decision to send forces last week to attack Syrian Kurdish militia that were Washington's close allies.
Erdogan has insisted there will be no ceasefire, and said he might call off a visit to the United States next month because of the "very big disrespect" shown by U.S. politicians.
Syrian government troops accompanied by Russian forces meanwhile entered the city of Kobani, a strategically important border city and a potential flashpoint for a wider conflict, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the eight-year-old Syrian war, reported.
Turkey's assault forced Washington to abandon a strategy in place for five years and pull its troops from northern Syria.
It has spawned a humanitarian crisis, with 160,000 civilians taking flight, a security alert over thousands of Islamic State fighters abandoned in Kurdish jails, and a political maelstrom at home for Trump, accused by congressional leaders, including fellow Republicans, of betraying loyal U.S. allies, the Kurds.
Syrian government forces, backed by Washington's adversaries Russia and Iran, have meanwhile taken advantage of the power vacuum left by retreating U.S. troops to advance swiftly into the largest swath of territory previously outside their grasp.
(Production: Roberto Esparza, Aiden Nulty) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
