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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Turkey vows 'harsh reaction' as missiles hit Syria town |
| 2016-02-16 |
| [REUTERS] ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... warned Kurdish militia fighters in northern Syria on Monday they would face the "harshest reaction" if they tried to capture a town near the Turkish border, and accused Russia of a missile attack there that killed at least 14 civilians. An offensive supported by Russian bombing and Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias has brought the Syrian army to within 25 km (15 miles) of Turkey's border. The Kurdish YPG militia has exploited the situation, seizing ground from Syrian rebels to extend its presence along the frontier. Almost 50 non-combatants were killed when missiles hit at least five medical facilities and two schools in rebel-held areas of Syria on Monday, according to the United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... , which called the attacks a blatant violation of international laws. At least 14 were killed in the town of Azaz, the last rebel stronghold before the border with Turkey, when missiles hit a children's hospital and a school sheltering refugees, a medic and two residents said. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said a Russian missile had hit the buildings and that many civilians including children had been killed. Turkey shelled YPG positions for a third day to try to stop its fighters seizing Azaz, just 8 km (5 miles) from the border. Ankara fears the Kurdish militia, backed by Russia, are trying to secure the last stretch of around 100 km (60 miles) along the Syrian border not already under its control. "We will not allow Azaz to fall," Davutoglu told news hounds on his plane on the way to Ukraine. YPG fighters would already have taken Azaz and Tal Rifaat further south had it not been for Turkish artillery firing at them over the weekend, he said. |
| Posted by:Fred |