Syrian Kurds: Turkish Forces Shelling Our Fighters Near Kobani

Turkey Vows Investigation But Denies Claim

Syrian Kurdish militia faction the YPG is reporting that as Turkey has started launching attacks on ISIS, they have also started attacking Kurdish targets inside Syria, including hitting a number of YPG forces with shelling against villages on the outskirts of Kobani.

The YPG slammed the “Turkish aggression” and demanding they stop attacking Kurdish defensive forces, and instead focus their fire on ISIS forces that are occupying Kurdish territory in the area. They advised Turkey to follow “international guidelines” on this targeting.

Turkish officials insisted they did not attack YPG positions in northern Syria, but later did say they intend to carry out an investigation into the claims. They went on to say that they don’t consider the YPG within the scope of their current wars against ISIS and the Kurdish PKK in Iraq.

Turkey has long treated the YPG’s political wing, the PYD, as the Syrian branch of the PKK, however, and they have been pushing for action against Kurdish forces in northern Syria for weeks now. This makes the denials somewhat harder to believe, as Turkey seems to be attacking anyone and everyone it doesn’t like in the area right now.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.