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Turkey may be 'responsible' for executions of Kurds in Syria: UN

Turkish-backed militants are pictured in the town of Ayn al-Arus, south of the border town of Tal Abyad, on October 14, 2019, as Turkey and its allies continues their assault on Kurdish-held border towns in northeastern Syria. (Photo by AFP)

The United Nations has warned that reported summary executions of civilians in northeastern Syria carried out by Turkish-backed Takfiri terrorists could constitute a “war crime,” and that the Ankara government could be “deemed responsible.”

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Tuesday that its staff had viewed two separate pieces of video footage “showing what appears to be summary executions carried out by fighters belonging to the Ahrar al-Sharqiya armed group, which is affiliated with Turkey, on October 12.”

The OHCHR Spokesman Rupert Colville told reporters in the Swiss city of Geneva that the footage, which has been widely shared on social media, appeared “to show the fighters filming themselves capturing and executing three Kurdish captives” on the main highway.

“Only one of the captives appeared to be wearing a military uniform,” he said adding that the office had also received reports of the execution of Hevrin Khalaf, the Secretary General of the Kurdish Future Movement in Syria, the same day “on the same highway.”

Turkish-backed militants fire a truck mounted heavy gun near the town of Tukhar, north of Syria's northern city of Manbij, on October 14, 2019, as Turkey and its allies continues their assault on Kurdish-held border towns in northeastern Syria. (Photo by AFP)

Colville further noted that the UN was working to verify the footage and confirm the details of the events, but stressed that under international law, “summary executions are serious violations, and may amount to a war crime.”

The top UN official warned that “Turkey could be deemed responsible as a state for violations committed by their affiliated armed groups, as long as Turkey exercises effective control over these groups or the operations in the course of which those violations occurred.”

Colville called on Ankara “to immediately launch an impartial, transparent and independent investigation into both incidents.”

Turkey, he said, must also “apprehend those responsible, some of whom should be easily identifiable from the video footage they themselves shared on social media.”

Turkish-backed militants take part in a battle in Syria's northeastern town of Ras al-Ayn in the Hasakah province along the Turkish border as Turkey and its allies continue their assault on Kurdish-held border towns in northeastern Syria on October 14, 2019. (Photo by AFP)

Militants from the Kurdish-dominated and so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said over the weekend that at least nine civilians were “executed” as part of Turkey's incursion into northeastern Syria.

Iran calls for end to Turkish incursion 

Moreover, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has demanded an end to the Turkish military campaign in northern Syria.

“The imperative now is to end the incursion into #Syria & address all concerns through #ADANA,” Zarif wrote in a post published on his official Tweeter page late on Tuesday.

The top Iranian diplomat added, “Meanwhile, it is essential that the core principles of JUS IN BELLO are fully observed: distinction between civilians and combatant, & prohibition on inflicting unnecessary suffering.”

Russia wants Turkey to wrap up Syria incursion soon

Russia also called Turkey's military incursion into northeast Syria "unacceptable," and said the operation had to be limited in time and scale.

“We didn't agree with the Turks any questions about their presence in Syria and we don't approve of their actions,” President Vladimir Putin's envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, told reporters in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday during an official visit there by the Russian leader.

President Vladimir Putin's envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev

He said Turkish troops had the right under a 1998 agreement between Ankara and Damascus, known as the Adana Interstate Agreement on Combating Terrorism, to temporarily push up to a maximum of 10 kilometers (6 miles) into Syria to conduct counter-terrorism operations.

“But it doesn't give them (Turkish troops) the right to remain on Syrian territory permanently and we are opposed to Turkish troops staying on Syrian territory permanently,” Lavrentiev pointed out.

Turkey players salute Syria operation after goal against France

Meanwhile, Turkish footballers have celebrated their goal in a 1-1 draw against world champions France during a Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) EURO 2020 qualifier at Stade de France in Saint-Denis with a military salute to soldiers fighting in northeast Syria on Monday night, raising the risk of an investigation by the European football's ruling body after a similar gesture against Albania three days earlier.

Turkish players salute at the end of the UEFA Euro 2020 Group H qualification football match between France and Turkey at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, on October 14, 2019. (Photo by AFP)

Olivier Giroud scored for France in the 75th minute of the showdown before Kaan Ayhan equalized for Turkey six minutes later. His teammates then lined up in front of the away supporters and saluted.

Turkey's veteran coach Senol Gunes defended the team's action, saying it was a gesture of respect for the armed forces rather than a political statement or agitation.

MSF halts operations in northeast Syria

Moreover, the Paris-based aid agency Doctors Without Borders, known by the French acronym MSF (Medecins Sans Frontieres), said on Tuesday that it was suspending most of its operations in northeastern Syria amid Turkey’s offensive in the territory.

“The latest developments have increased the need for humanitarian assistance, yet it is impossible to deliver it with the current insecurity,” Robert Onus, the medical charity's emergency manager for Syria, said in a statement.

This picture, taken on October 15, 2019 from the Turkish side of the border at Ceylanpinar district in Sanliurfa, shows smoke rising from the Syrian town of Ras al-Ayn on the first week of Turkey's military operation against Kurdish forces. (Photo by AFP)

MSF said it had been distributing blankets, food and water to “thousands of people who were arriving in the (northeastern Syrian) town (of Tal Tamer) since the Turkish incursion began last week.

“Given the numerous groups fighting on different sides of the conflict, we can no longer guarantee the safety of our Syrian and international staff,” it said.

“We are extremely worried about the safety of our Syrian colleagues and their families who remain in northeast Syria,” the charity noted.

MSF said its personnel would remain in northwest Syria, providing health care at facilities and in mobile clinics.

UN Security Council to meet on Syria again

Separately, the United Nations Security Council will likely meet on Wednesday to discuss latest developments in Syria.

Diplomats, requesting not to be named, said a closed-door discussion had been requested by the body’s five European members, namely Britain, France, Germany, Belgium and Poland.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations in New York City, the United States, on August 20, 2019. (Photo by AFP)

It will be the second council meeting since Turkey began a cross-border military incursion into northeast Syria.

Erdogan: Turkey will never declare ceasefire in northern Syria

Furthermore, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his US counterpart Donald Trump that Ankara will never declare a ceasefire in northeastern Syria, and added that he was not worried about US sanctions over his country’s offensive against Kurdish positions in the area.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a meeting with provincial heads of ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in Ankara, Turkey, on October 10, 2019. (Photo by AFP) 

Speaking to reporters on a flight back from the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku, Erdogan said talks with Washington and Moscow on Syria's Kurdish cities of Kobani, officially Ayn al-Arab, and Manbij near the Turkish border continued, adding that it was “not negative” for Syrian government forces to enter Manbij as long as militants in the area were cleared, Turkish-language NTV television news network reported.

He also said he told Trump that Turkey would “not negotiate with a terrorist organization” in response to Trump's mediation offer.

611 terrorists 'neutralized' by Turkish operation

The Turkish Defense Ministry also said on Tuesday that a total of 611 Kurdish militants from the People's Protection Units (YPG) had been neutralized ever since Turkey's operation in northern Syria started.

Turkish authorities often use the word “neutralized” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

On October 9, Turkish military forces and Ankara-backed militants launched a long-threatened cross-border invasion of northeast Syria in a declared attempt to push YPG militants away from border areas.

Ankara views the US-backed YPG as a terrorist organization tied to the homegrown Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been seeking an autonomous Kurdish region in Turkey since 1984. The YPG constitutes the backbone of the SDF.


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