US alarm as Turkey warns Syrian Kurd militia of more strikes

Istanbul, Aug 29 (AFP) Turkey warned today it would carryout more strikes on a Syrian Kurdish militia if it failed toretreat beyond the Euphrates River, as Washington condemnedtheir weekend clashes as "unacceptable". Turkish forces pressed on with a two-pronged operationinside Syria against Islamic State (IS) jihadists and theSyrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), shelling overa dozen targets. But strikes against the YPG are hugely sensitive as theKurdish group – seen as a terror group by Ankara – is alliedwith Turkey’s NATO partner, the United States, in the fightagainst IS in Syria. Ankara said it had killed 25 Kurdish "terrorists" instrikes on YPG positions yesterday, a day after a Turkishsoldier died in a rocket attack allegedly by the militia. The Pentagon called the clashes "unacceptable" and urgedan immediate de-escalation. Turkey’s operation aims to push the YPG back across theEuphrates River to prevent it joining up the region east ofthe river already under its control with a Kurdish-held areato the west. US Vice President Joe Biden, visiting Ankara last week,said Washington had told the YPG to go back across theEuphrates or risk losing American support. But Ankara says ithad seen no evidence of this. "The YPG… needs to cross east of the Euphrates as soonas possible. So long as they don’t, they will be a target,"said Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. "In the places where it has moved, the YPG forceseveryone out – including Kurds – who do not think like it doesand carries out ethnic cleansing," he added. Cavusoglu said the ethnic composition of the area aroundthe city of Manbij west of the Euphrates – captured by the YPGfrom IS earlier this month – was largely Arab. He said those who had lived in the area before fightingbroke out should return rather than new Kurdish migrants. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rightssaid at least 40 civilians were killed in Turkish shelling andair strikes today, claims strongly rejected by Ankara. "Allegations that… civilians were shot at or targeteddo not reflect the truth," the Turkish premier’s office said,adding the army was taking "all necessary measures to preventany harm to the civilian population". It said 13 villages had "been cleared of terroristelements" and were now controlled by anti-regime Syrianfighters that Ankara refers to as the Free Syrian Army (FSA). Ankara-backed forces captured the IS border stronghold ofJarabulus last week, facing seemingly little resistance fromthe jihadists who fled to bases further south. But the standoff with the Kurdish militia has beenintense, with a Turkish soldier killed on Saturday in a YPGrocket attack on his tank. Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said Washington wasmonitoring the reports of air strikes and clashes and foundsuch fighting – in an area clear of IS – "unacceptable and asource of deep concern". (AFP)SAI