{"id":13321,"date":"2019-10-14T23:24:05","date_gmt":"2019-10-14T23:24:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/10\/14\/turkey-says-ongoing-invasion-into-syria-is-self-defense\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:26:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:26:02","slug":"turkey-says-ongoing-invasion-into-syria-is-self-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/14\/turkey-says-ongoing-invasion-into-syria-is-self-defense\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkey says ongoing invasion into Syria is self-defense"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

UNITED NATIONS \u2014 Turkey has justified its ongoing invasion of northeast Syria to the United Nations by saying it\u2019s exercising its right to self-defense under the U.N. Charter, according to a letter circulated Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ankara said the military offensive was undertaken to counter an \u201cimminent terrorist threat\u201d and to ensure the security of its borders from Syrian Kurdish militias, whom it calls \u201cterrorists,\u201d and the Islamic State extremist group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2014, the Kurds had fought alongside American forces in defeating IS in Syria. But U.S. President Donald Trump ordered American troops in northern Syria to step aside<\/a> last week \u2014 a move decried at home and abroad as a betrayal of an ally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. withdrawal cleared the way for Turkey\u2019s cross-border attack on Kurdish-held areas<\/a> in Syria, which is now in its sixth day and has led to quickly shifting alliances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The military action by Ankara sets up a potential clash between Turkish and Syrian government troops<\/a>, as the Kurds have now turned to Damascus for support. It also raises the specter of a resurgent IS, since the Kurds will focus their attention on the Turkish advance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Turkish
Turkish army personnel carriers are parked on a road towards the border of Syria in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, Monday, Oct. 14, 2019. (Emrah Gurel\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Turkey\u2019s position is that the main Kurdish group in Syria is linked to an outlawed Kurdish group in Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers\u2019 Party. Known as the PKK, that group has waged a 35-year old conflict against the Turkish state that has left tens of thousands of people dead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkey\u2019s U.N. Ambassador Feridun Sinirlioglu said in the letter to the Security Council dated Oct. 9 that its counter-terrorism operation will be \u201cproportionate, measured and responsible.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe operation will target only terrorists and their hideouts, shelters, emplacements, weapons, vehicles and equipment,\u201d he said. \u201cAll precautions are taken to avoid collateral damage to the civilian population.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\t