Jordan calls on Turkey to halt Syria offensive

AMMAN — Jordan on Wednesday called on Turkey to stop its offensive against Syria and resort to dialogue to "solve all issues".

In a tweet on his official Twitter account, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi said: "We urge Turkey to stop attack on Syria and solve all issues through dialogue, within international law."

"We condemn all actions that infringe on Syria’s sovereignty. Political solution that preserves unity of Syria, ensures rights of Syrians & defeats terrorism guarantees security of all," said Safadi.

Turkey has launched a broad assault on Kurdish-controlled areas in northeastern Syria, with intensive bombardment followed by a ground offensive made possible by the withdrawal of US troops, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Wednesday the start of the attack on Twitter and soon after jets and artillery targeted Kurdish positions along the full width of the border, sending thousands of civilians fleeing their homes.

That was followed late in the evening by the beginning of a ground operation, the Turkish defence ministry said.

US President Donald Trump warned that if the Turkish operation was not conducted "in as humane a way as possible", he would "wipe out" the country's economy.

The assault had seemed inevitable since he announced on Sunday a military pullback from the border, but the attack triggered international condemnation and an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council which was set for Thursday.

The Arab League said it was convening an emergency meeting in Cairo on October 12.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said 16 members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia were killed in the early hours of the Turkish offensive.

In the face of the onslaught, Kurdish authorities announced a general mobilisation, urging all civilians to "head to the border with Turkey... to resist during this delicate historical moment".

Kurdish leaders said they would hold their erstwhile US ally and the whole international community responsible for any "humanitarian catastrophe".
In Ras Al Ain, Kurdish-led security forces set up checkpoints and stockpiled tyres to set alight to blur the vision of Turkish military pilots, an AFP correspondent reported.

Ras Al Ain was one of the places from which US troops withdrew on Monday.