ANKARA/BEIRUT - Turkish-backed Syrian rebels advanced into Ras al Ain in northeast Syria on Saturday but it was unclear how far, with Turkey saying the town center had been taken and Kurdish-led forces denying this and saying they were counter-attacking.
The Kurdish-led administration in Syria’s northeast said nearly 200,000 people had been uprooted so far by the fighting, while the UN World Food Programme put the figure at more than 100,000 in the towns of Tel Abyad and Ras al Ain. Turkey’s Defence Ministry said around midday that the Turkish-backed rebel Syrian National Army had been brought under control, with officials posting photos showing deserted streets and Syrian rebels standing on Kurdish militia flags.
The National Army’s spokesman said later in the day Turkish-backed forces had seized some districts of Ras al Ain including its industrial area while some units had pushed deeper into the town, but fighting continued in the area.In the latest international censure of Turkey’s onslaught, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit called it an “invasion of an Arab state’s land and an aggression on its sovereignty”.
Erdogan has dismissed mounting international condemnation of the operation and said on Friday evening that Turkey “will not stop it, no matter what anyone says”.
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