Turkey shelled positions held by the main Kurdish militia in northern Syria for a second day today, drawing condemnation from the Syrian government, whose forces are advancing against insurgents in the same area under the cover of Russian airstrikes.
Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency said Turkish artillery units in the southern province of Kilis fired at Kurdish fighters in the Syrian town of Azaz in Aleppo province, saying it was in response to incoming Kurdish fire.
Turkish troops have shelled areas under the control of Syria's main Kurdish faction, the People's Protection Units, known as YPG, in the past. But Ankara appears increasingly uneasy over the group's recent gains in northern Syria.
"Turkey has responded in this manner in the past," said Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan. "What is different is not that Turkey has responded in such a way but the fact that there are different movements in the region. The YPG crossing west of the Euphrates is Turkey's red line."
The YPG is the main fighting force of Syrian Kurds and a key ally of the U.S.-led coalition battling the Islamic State group. Turkey, which is also in the alliance, considers it an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Ankara.
A coalition of Kurdish-led Syrian fighters known as the Syrian Democratic Forces recently seized a number of villages near Turkey's border. Ankara appears concerned they could reach the opposition stronghold of Azaz, which is home to a major border crossing that has been controlled by militants since 2012.
Akdogan says Kurdish gains in northern Syria facilitated by a Russian-backed government offensive in the same area are also putting "unacceptable" pressure on opposition-held areas in Aleppo and the nearby town of Tel Rifaat.
The private Dogan news agency broadcast footage of Turkish howitzers opening fire and shells raising plumes of smoke in Syria. It said the army hit targets in the Mannagh air base and two villages, all controlled by Syrian Kurdish fighters.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group that monitors the conflict, said two fighters from the SDF a coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters have been killed and seven others wounded in the shelling. There was no confirmation by the group, which is dominated by the YPG.
Opposition groups said Saturday that Turkish troops fired artillery shells that targeted the Mannagh air base in Aleppo province, which was captured by Kurdish fighters and their allies earlier this week.
