Death Toll Rises in Turkey Offensive

On October 10, Turkish jets and artillery showered Syria’s Ras al-Ain, one of two border settlements that have been the emphasis of the Turkish offensive. Shooting could also be heard inside the city, according to a Reuters journalist.

From this airstrike and artillery assault, 9 civilians were killed and in the retaliation from the ‘Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF), 6 unarmed non-combatants died, including a nine-month-old baby. on the report of Reuters field journalists from the hot-spots.     

Referring to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, at least 23 SDF warriors were eliminated and Turkish-backed Syrian rebels suffered a loss of 6 combatants. People are fleeing from the border cities and are abandoning everything. Experts are predicting a new humanitarian crisis if it goes on.

President Trump, who decided to pull American forces out of the borderline after a phone call with Erdogan, commented on the recent developments.

“We have one of three choices: Send in thousands of troops and win militarily, hit Turkey very hard financially and with sanctions, or mediate a deal between Turkey and the Kurds!” Trump tweeted.

“I hope we can mediate,” Trump said when asked about the three options by correspondents at the White House.

Without particularizing, Trump said the US “going to possibly do something very, very tough with respect to sanctions and other financial things” against Turkey.

By Beka Alexishvili