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Turkish Armed Forces in Race with Syrian Regime to Tabqa | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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A Turkish army tank drives towards the border in Karkamis on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern Gaziantep province, Turkey, August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas


Turkish Armed Forces in Race with Syrian Regime to Tabqa

by | Aug 29, 2016 | Middle East |

Turkish Armed Forces in Race with Syrian Regime to Tabqa

Beirut- Turkey’s army pushed deeper into Syria as clashes sparked in al-Amarna, 8 km south of Jarabulus. Conflicting news on seizing the village spread; as Free Syrian Army sources announced that FSA seized the village, sources from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced that Turkish forces and factions failed to take control of the town.

A statement by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) said that warplanes carried out strikes on five buildings that belong to Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in the region. The statement underlined that all precautions are being taken and that maximum care is being applied to prevent civilians living in the region from being hurt.

Twenty-five members of PKK and YPG were killed in the strikes carried out by F-16 fighter jets, according to TSK.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, declared that 35 civilians had been killed and 75 wounded in the two villages hit by Turkish airstrikes in northern Syria. The group added that at least 20 were killed and 50 were wounded in Turkish bombardment on Jub al-Kousa.

Idriss Nassan, a senior Kurdish official in Kobane, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Jarablus and Manbij military councils and Army of Revolutionaries forces defied on Sunday the attack on al-Amarna. “There were casualties from both sides,” added Nassan.

Nassan also said that “Turkish expansion is a clear indicator that Turkey wants to impose a siege on self-administrations in east Euphrates,” however he doubted Turkey’s plan would see the light.

Furthermore, Kurdish fighters launched a battle whose target is to reach Tabqa, a city located in Raqqa Governorate, in order to cut off ISIS supply. Abu Mohammad al-Raqqawi, activist in the “Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently,” told Asharq Al-Awsat that the forces are now 35 km away from Tabqa in race with the Syrian regime to reach this strategic city.

“The regime will fall short to move forward especially following the last three failed attempts, given that it is a desert area … that makes regime forces easy prey for ISIS,” added Raqqawi.