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A photo taken from Turkey's Sanliurfa province on October 09, 2019 shows smoke rising at the site of Ras al-Ayn city of Syria as Turkish forces began bombing northern Syria. (Photo by Kerem Kocalar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
'Humanitarian Catastrophe': Civilians Flee as Turkey Launches Trump-Sanctioned Military Assault on Kurds in Syria
A spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) accused Turkish forces of deliberately targeting "civilian areas."
Oct 09, 2019
This is a developing story... Check back for possible updates...
Rights groups and anti-war activists warned of a looming "humanitarian catastrophe" Wednesday as Turkish forces invaded northeastern Syria and launched airstrikes against Kurdish targets, forcing civilians to flee in panic.
The attack comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump gave his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan a green light to begin the operation by announcing the abrupt withdrawal of American forces from northeastern Syria.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) warned in a statement Wednesday that Turkey's assault "will spill the blood of thousands of innocent civilians because our border areas are overcrowded."
On Twitter, SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali accused Turkey of deliberately targeting "civilian areas."
\u201cTurkish warplanes have started to carry out airstrikes on civilian areas. There is a huge panic among people of the region.\u201d— Mustafa Bali (@Mustafa Bali) 1570626859
Fighters with the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which leads the SDF, told CNN that hundreds of civilians scrambled to escape northeastern Syria as Turkey began bombarding the area:
\u201cHundreds of civilians in northern Syria have fled areas on the border with Turkey within the last 30 minutes, two YPG fighters and witnesses tell CNN. @npwcnn reports. https://t.co/Pm88pjHaON\u201d— CNN Newsroom (@CNN Newsroom) 1570631550
In a statement issued before Turkey launched its attack, Amnesty International said "it is imperative that all parties to this conflict respect international humanitarian law, including by refraining from carrying out attacks on civilians and civilian objects, as well as indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks."
"The international community must take measures to ensure respect for international humanitarian law by the Turkish authorities and pro-Turkey armed groups and Kurdish forces if yet another humanitarian catastrophe in northern Syria is to be avoided," said Amnesty.
Misty Buswell, Middle East policy director at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), expressed deep concern about the impact Turkey's assault will have "on civilians, including our own staff members and their families, and the destabilizing effect this will have on a population that has already borne the brunt of the eight-year-long conflict in Syria."
"Many of these people have already been displaced multiple times and suffered horribly under the brutal rule of ISIS," said Buswell, "only to be facing yet another crisis."
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This is a developing story... Check back for possible updates...
Rights groups and anti-war activists warned of a looming "humanitarian catastrophe" Wednesday as Turkish forces invaded northeastern Syria and launched airstrikes against Kurdish targets, forcing civilians to flee in panic.
The attack comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump gave his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan a green light to begin the operation by announcing the abrupt withdrawal of American forces from northeastern Syria.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) warned in a statement Wednesday that Turkey's assault "will spill the blood of thousands of innocent civilians because our border areas are overcrowded."
On Twitter, SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali accused Turkey of deliberately targeting "civilian areas."
\u201cTurkish warplanes have started to carry out airstrikes on civilian areas. There is a huge panic among people of the region.\u201d— Mustafa Bali (@Mustafa Bali) 1570626859
Fighters with the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which leads the SDF, told CNN that hundreds of civilians scrambled to escape northeastern Syria as Turkey began bombarding the area:
\u201cHundreds of civilians in northern Syria have fled areas on the border with Turkey within the last 30 minutes, two YPG fighters and witnesses tell CNN. @npwcnn reports. https://t.co/Pm88pjHaON\u201d— CNN Newsroom (@CNN Newsroom) 1570631550
In a statement issued before Turkey launched its attack, Amnesty International said "it is imperative that all parties to this conflict respect international humanitarian law, including by refraining from carrying out attacks on civilians and civilian objects, as well as indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks."
"The international community must take measures to ensure respect for international humanitarian law by the Turkish authorities and pro-Turkey armed groups and Kurdish forces if yet another humanitarian catastrophe in northern Syria is to be avoided," said Amnesty.
Misty Buswell, Middle East policy director at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), expressed deep concern about the impact Turkey's assault will have "on civilians, including our own staff members and their families, and the destabilizing effect this will have on a population that has already borne the brunt of the eight-year-long conflict in Syria."
"Many of these people have already been displaced multiple times and suffered horribly under the brutal rule of ISIS," said Buswell, "only to be facing yet another crisis."
This is a developing story... Check back for possible updates...
Rights groups and anti-war activists warned of a looming "humanitarian catastrophe" Wednesday as Turkish forces invaded northeastern Syria and launched airstrikes against Kurdish targets, forcing civilians to flee in panic.
The attack comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump gave his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan a green light to begin the operation by announcing the abrupt withdrawal of American forces from northeastern Syria.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) warned in a statement Wednesday that Turkey's assault "will spill the blood of thousands of innocent civilians because our border areas are overcrowded."
On Twitter, SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali accused Turkey of deliberately targeting "civilian areas."
\u201cTurkish warplanes have started to carry out airstrikes on civilian areas. There is a huge panic among people of the region.\u201d— Mustafa Bali (@Mustafa Bali) 1570626859
Fighters with the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which leads the SDF, told CNN that hundreds of civilians scrambled to escape northeastern Syria as Turkey began bombarding the area:
\u201cHundreds of civilians in northern Syria have fled areas on the border with Turkey within the last 30 minutes, two YPG fighters and witnesses tell CNN. @npwcnn reports. https://t.co/Pm88pjHaON\u201d— CNN Newsroom (@CNN Newsroom) 1570631550
In a statement issued before Turkey launched its attack, Amnesty International said "it is imperative that all parties to this conflict respect international humanitarian law, including by refraining from carrying out attacks on civilians and civilian objects, as well as indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks."
"The international community must take measures to ensure respect for international humanitarian law by the Turkish authorities and pro-Turkey armed groups and Kurdish forces if yet another humanitarian catastrophe in northern Syria is to be avoided," said Amnesty.
Misty Buswell, Middle East policy director at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), expressed deep concern about the impact Turkey's assault will have "on civilians, including our own staff members and their families, and the destabilizing effect this will have on a population that has already borne the brunt of the eight-year-long conflict in Syria."
"Many of these people have already been displaced multiple times and suffered horribly under the brutal rule of ISIS," said Buswell, "only to be facing yet another crisis."
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