The land operation by Turkish forces, which began Sunday morning, comes as Turkey intensified air and artillery strikes on the Syrian Kurdish enclave Afrin over the weekend. Syrian Kurdish officials denied that Turkish troops had crossed into Afrin, claiming instead that YPG fighters had repelled an attack. As a result, the Turkish operation threatens to further degrade relations between Ankara and Washington, which have become strained over the course of the war. to avoid civilian casualties.”Ahead of the Turkish operation, U.S. officials called on Turkey to focus instead on eradicating the jihadists. “Turkey expects its allies to support its fight against terrorism in all of its forms.”On Sunday, both Iran and Egypt condemned the Turkish offensive.

Source: Washington Post January 21, 2018 13:07 UTC