Turkish troops advance on Kurdish enclave in Syria

(22 Jan 2018) Turkish troops and their allies advanced on a Kurdish enclave in Syria on Monday, the third day of the Ankara offensive aimed at ousting the US-backed Kurdish militia from the area, according to the militia and a war monitoring group.
Tanks, troops and armoured vehicles could be seen on the move in Sugedigi, Hatay province, near the Syrian border.
Turkey’s offensive on Afrin, the Kurdish-controlled enclave that straddles its borders, started on Saturday.
The operation has heightened tensions in the already complicated Syrian conflict and threatening to further strain ties between NATO allies Turkey and the US.
Afrin is controlled by a Syrian Kurdish militia, the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, which Turkey views as part of the Kurdish insurgency in its southeast.
The YPG forms the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main US ally against the Islamic State group in Syria.
Turkey says it aims to create a 30-kilometre (20-mile) deep “secure zone” in Afrin.
The UN Security Council was to convene later on Monday to discuss the situation in Syria.

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