WASHINGTON: The United States called Sunday for Turkey to 鈥渆xercise restraint鈥� and avoid civilian casualties in its cross-border operation targeting Syrian Kurdish forces.
The call came a day after Turkey launched 鈥淥peration Olive Branch,鈥� an offensive by Ankara鈥檚 troops and allied Syrian rebels against the Kurdish People鈥檚 Protection Units (YPG) in the town of Afrin.
鈥淲e urge Turkey to exercise restraint and ensure that its military operations remain limited in scope and duration and scrupulous to avoid civilian casualties,鈥� State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.
鈥淲e call on all parties to remain focused on the central goal of defeating鈥� Daesh, Nauert said.
The YPG has been a key US ally in the war against Daesh, helping to drive the rebel group from swaths of Syrian territory, including its stronghold Raqqa.
But Ankara considers YPG fighters to be 鈥渢errorists鈥� linked to the Kurdistan Workers鈥� Party (PKK), which has been engaged in a separatist struggle against the Turkish state since 1984.
A Britain-based monitoring group and a YPG spokesman both said that Turkish air raids killed eight civilians in northern Syria on Sunday.
On Saturday, the YPG鈥檚 Birusk Hasakah told AFP that a Turkish bombardment had killed 10 people, including seven civilians.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Sunday that claims of civilian casualties from the offensive were untrue.