US Special Envoy to Syria James Jeffrey told the House Foreign Affairs
Committee that the US has seen video footage of “several incidents”
committed by Turkey-backed troops in northern Syria which the US
considered to be war crimes.
The war crimes are being committed by Turkey’s Islamist rebel allies, with videos showing them executing people in civilian clothing, and bragging about how many Kurds they’ve killed.
CNN reported on some of these videos early in the Turkish invasion, with
rebels filming themselves over the bodies of a Kurdish politician and
two bodyguards, declaring them the “corpse of pigs.”
Syrian Kurdish officials have expressed fear that this Turkish invasion
will be “the biggest ethnic cleansing operation of the 21st century.”
They have emphasized this will trying to convince the US to get
involved.
Turkish officials have dismissed reports of war crimes in northern
Syria, saying all such allegations are a “smear campaign” invented by
the Kurds, who Turkish officials label terrorists.
US Envoy: Videos Show Turkish-Backed Rebels Committed War Crimes in Syria
Turkish officials say allegations are a 'smear campaign'
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.
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