Published 22:00 IST, October 10th 2019
Mike Pompeo defends Syria, says they did not allow Turkey to attack
US State Secretary Mike Pompeo has defended President Donald Trump's withdrawal of troops in Syria and said the President did not allow Turkey to attack.
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US State Secretary Mike Pompeo has defended President Donald Trump's withdrawal of troops in Syria and said the President did not give any green signal to invade the country. Mike Pompeo said that during the phone call with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that it turned out to be exceptionally certain that there were American soldiers that would have been in danger and the president settled on a choice to place them in a spot where they were out of any danger.
The attacks could prompt a reappearance of IS
He also included that he feels that Turkey has a legitimate security concern and waved off claims from Republican Senator Lindsay Graham that the attacks could prompt a reappearance of IS. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reported the beginning of the campaign, which pursued Donald Trump's decision on Sunday to modify the US policy. Mr. Erdogan has since said Turkish forces have killed 109 militants. As the beginning of the operation was declared, TV reports in Turkey revealed airstrikes in the towns of Ras al-Ayn and Tal Abyad.
Reports suggested that mortar shells had been fired into Turkey
A spokesman for the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said that Turkish warplanes were targeting civilian areas in northern Syria, causing a huge panic in the region. On the other hand, reports suggested that mortar shells had been fired into Turkey from the Syrian side of the border. NATO's secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg has encouraged Turkey not to further destabilize the area. The Syrian Kurdish forces were long-lasting US allies in the battle against the alleged Islamic State gathering. In spite of this, Mr. Trump has said the US doesn't embrace Turkey's attack on Syria and called the activity a poorly conceived notion. Turkey has been gathering troops for a considerable length of time along its border and promised it would proceed with the military activity and not bow to the US threat.
20:53 IST, October 10th 2019