“Concerned” over the apparent war crimes the Turkish forces may have committed in their advance in Syria after the withdrawal of U.S. military forces, Republicans and Democrats are studying a way to sanction Erdogan’s government, according to a tweet published by President Donald Trump.
Trump said from Washington that he will impose “powerful sanctions” against Turkey, for its incursion into the Syrian border after the American troops withdrawal.
“Dealing with Lindsey Graham and many members of Congress, including Democrats, over the imposition of powerful sanctions on Turkey. The Treasury is ready. (…) There is a great consensus on this,” Trump warned on his Twitter account.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said that some of the actions of the Turkish forces in their incursion into northern Syria, “appear to be” war crimes.
“It appears to be,” Esper replied when asked on CBS Sunday’s “Face the Nation” about whether some of Turkey’s movements against Kurdish forces can be classified as a war crime, including group executions of Kurdish captives.
The international community is seriously concerned about the concept of Turkish war and even Pope Francis called on the international community to encourage dialogue and the search for an effective solution, which would put an end to Turkey’s offensive in Syria.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that more than 130,000 people have left their homes in the northeastern Syrian towns of Tell Abiad and Ras al-Ayn since the Turkish offensive in the area began mid-week.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, asked for an immediate end to the Turkish military offensive in northern Syria.
German deputy government spokesperson Ulrike Demmer said in a statement that the conversation, which took place at the request of the Turkish president, focused on the situation in northeastern Syria after the start of the Turkish military operation,
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s response to the situation is that he will not cease in his intention to bring under his control an area in northern Syria, from the Euphrates River to the Iraqi border, despite international criticism for his military operation against Kurdish militias in the region.
At a meeting with Turkish journalists in Istanbul, Erdogan pointed out that they were going to keep going over an area of 30 kilometers inside, from West to East until they get it. He added that he had explained that to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Erdogan said that threats of sanctions were not going to stop them, while specifying that since the start of the offensive five days ago the Turkish army has placed 109 square kilometers of the area under its control and has killed 440 Kurdish fighters.
Noticias Newswire
