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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/23/turkey-admits-first-soldier-to-die-kurdish-offensive-syria
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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Turkey says first soldier has died in Kurdish offensive in Syria | Turkey says first soldier has died in Kurdish offensive in Syria |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Ankara acknowledges first combat death in Afrin, Kurdish enclave south of Turkish border | Ankara acknowledges first combat death in Afrin, Kurdish enclave south of Turkish border |
| Kareem Shaheen in Istanbul | Kareem Shaheen in Istanbul |
| Tue 23 Jan 2018 10.13 GMT | Tue 23 Jan 2018 10.13 GMT |
| Last modified on Tue 23 Jan 2018 10.52 GMT | |
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| Turkey has acknowledged its first combat death in a military offensive against the Kurdish-dominated enclave of Afrin in neighbouring Syria that was launched over the weekend. | Turkey has acknowledged its first combat death in a military offensive against the Kurdish-dominated enclave of Afrin in neighbouring Syria that was launched over the weekend. |
| The military said in a statement the soldier had been killed in clashes with Kurdish militiamen just south of the Turkish border . The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor with wide contacts inside Syria, said 24 civilians had died after three days of intense shelling and airstrikes, as well as 25 Syrian rebels fighting alongside Turkey and 26 Kurdish fighters. Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch in Afrin on Saturday. The enclave is controlled by the Kurdish Democratic Union party (PYD) and its military wing, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara says is the Syrian arm of a terror group that has fought a decades-long insurgency inside Turkey. The provision of arms to the PYD by the US coalition fighting Isis has incensed the Turkish government. | The military said in a statement the soldier had been killed in clashes with Kurdish militiamen just south of the Turkish border . The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor with wide contacts inside Syria, said 24 civilians had died after three days of intense shelling and airstrikes, as well as 25 Syrian rebels fighting alongside Turkey and 26 Kurdish fighters. Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch in Afrin on Saturday. The enclave is controlled by the Kurdish Democratic Union party (PYD) and its military wing, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara says is the Syrian arm of a terror group that has fought a decades-long insurgency inside Turkey. The provision of arms to the PYD by the US coalition fighting Isis has incensed the Turkish government. |
| The latest conflict was sparked by a US announcement that it intended to build a 30,000-strong border force to patrol Syria’s frontiers that would include the YPG. | The latest conflict was sparked by a US announcement that it intended to build a 30,000-strong border force to patrol Syria’s frontiers that would include the YPG. |
| Turkey sought Russia’s backing to use the airspace over Afrin and to conduct the operation, which aims to create a 30km-deep buffer zone to shield Turkish border towns from any incursions or rocket attacks. | Turkey sought Russia’s backing to use the airspace over Afrin and to conduct the operation, which aims to create a 30km-deep buffer zone to shield Turkish border towns from any incursions or rocket attacks. |
| In a sign of deepening tension with Washington, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday night rejected a US statement urging restraint and stating that the operation ought to be limited in scope, though acknowledging that Turkey had legitimate concerns over its border security. | In a sign of deepening tension with Washington, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday night rejected a US statement urging restraint and stating that the operation ought to be limited in scope, though acknowledging that Turkey had legitimate concerns over its border security. |
| “Then I ask the US: did you have any specific time duration in Afghanistan, when will it end? You entered Iraq before we came to power – has the time duration ended in Iraq, you are still there?” Erdoğan said in a speech in Ankara. | “Then I ask the US: did you have any specific time duration in Afghanistan, when will it end? You entered Iraq before we came to power – has the time duration ended in Iraq, you are still there?” Erdoğan said in a speech in Ankara. |
| The YPG blamed Moscow once again for allowing Turkey to conduct the Olive Branch operation, in another hint at the dynamics of the superpower rivalry in northern Syria. The YPG had essentially enjoyed a security umbrella as a coalition partner with the US, but has found itself isolated within the enclave with little Washington can do to deter Turkey’s offensive. “Turkey would not dare to shell our cities and villages and commit massacres against the civilians, if Russia did not withdraw from their morality and did not allow Turkish planes fly over [Afrin],” said the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance that includes the YPG and spearheaded ground campaigns against Isis. The group demanded that both the US-led coalition and Russia explain their position towards Turkey’s offensive. Also on Tuesday, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency said 42 people had been detained overnight for allegedly spreading propaganda against the military campaign on social media. | The YPG blamed Moscow once again for allowing Turkey to conduct the Olive Branch operation, in another hint at the dynamics of the superpower rivalry in northern Syria. The YPG had essentially enjoyed a security umbrella as a coalition partner with the US, but has found itself isolated within the enclave with little Washington can do to deter Turkey’s offensive. “Turkey would not dare to shell our cities and villages and commit massacres against the civilians, if Russia did not withdraw from their morality and did not allow Turkish planes fly over [Afrin],” said the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance that includes the YPG and spearheaded ground campaigns against Isis. The group demanded that both the US-led coalition and Russia explain their position towards Turkey’s offensive. Also on Tuesday, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency said 42 people had been detained overnight for allegedly spreading propaganda against the military campaign on social media. |
| Turkey | Turkey |
| Syria | Syria |
| Middle East and North Africa | Middle East and North Africa |
| Kurds | Kurds |
| news | news |
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