UPDATE 1730 GMT: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has vowed an expansion of operations against Kurdish militia, all the way through northeast Syria to the Iraq border.

Speaking to members of his ruling AKP, Erdoğan indicated that Manbij in eastern Aleppo Province, held by the US-supported, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, will be the next target of the Turkish-rebel offensive. Then he promised a clearout of the SDF all along the border.

Operation Olive Branch will continue until it reaches its goals. We will rid Manbij of terrorists, as was promised to us before. Our battles will continue until no terrorist is left right up to our border with Iraq.

Turkey has a 911-km border with Syria, of which about 600 km is under the control of the SDF.

Erdoğan proclaimed that the offensive will allow all 3.5 million Syrian refugees in Turkey to return to their homes. He challenged Donald Trump and other officials who urged Turkey to wrap up its operations soon, saying that the Turkish military is “moving carefully in the field in order not to cause civilian casualties”:

We could certainly accomplish this operation in a short time period if we did not take care of civilians. I ask those who advise us to finish the operation quickly: What would you do if rockets were reigning down on your cities and churches from the other side of your borders? What would your reaction be if your people were killed as a result of rockets fired while worshipping in your churches?


Facing a Turkish-rebel offensive, Kurdish leaders in the Afrin canton in northwest Syria have appealed to the Assad regime for assistance.

The local government for Afrin said in a statement on Thursday:

The Afrin area is an inseparable part of Syria and our forces the People’s Protection Units have been undertaking a national duty for six years, protecting the area against the offensives of ISIS terrorists, Al Qa’eda, and others on Syrian soil, contributing to preserving the unity of the Syrian lands and national institutions….

While we insist that we will continue to defend Afrin against rabid external attacks and will confront the Turkish attempts at occupying Afrin, we invite the Syrian State to carry out its sovereign duties towards Afrin and to protect its borders with Turkey from attack.

Reports have indicated that the regime has not allowed the movement of Kurdish militia from northern and eastern Syria, across territory which it controls, to Afrin. The local government referred to this, accusing the regime of not carrying out “its duty” to the region.

The regime has threatened to shoot down Turkish warplanes, but so far has taken no action.

There is no regime response on State media to Thursday’s appeal. A Turkish Foreign Ministry official declined to comment.

Turkey and Free Syrian Army units launched attacks on Afrin last Friday, beginning with shelling and airstrikes before the movement of ground forces on Sunday. The Turkish military claimed initial gains north of Afrin, but Kurdish outlets say the territory, including the high point of Mount Bursaya, has been retaken.