Turkey warns Russia over YPG attacks from Syria

A sniper attack from Afrin in Syria killed a Turkish soldier across the border in the city of Hatay. Afrin is controlled by YPG militants who said Russian forces headed to the area before the incident.

The YPG-controlled city of Afrin in northern Syria.
TRT World and Agencies

The YPG-controlled city of Afrin in northern Syria.

Turkey summoned Russia's charge d'affaires on Wednesday and warned Moscow of reprisals against the YPG (PKK/PYD) if there are more attacks from YPG-controlled areas across the border in Syria.

The warning came after a Turkish soldier based in Hatay, on the country's border with Syria, was killed in a cross-border attack by sniper fire which came from the YPG-controlled area of Afrin in Syria, where Russian forces are active.

The Turkish military responded by firing back into Afrin on Wednesday.

The YPG is the armed wing of the PYD, which is a Syrian affiliate of the PKK. The PKK is listed by Turkey, the EU and US as a terrorist organisation.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Huseyin Muftuoglu on Thursday said Turkey expects Russia to respect its sensitivities and described pictures circulating online of Russian soldiers with YPG militants as "unpleasant."

Muftuoglu also called on Moscow to shut down PKK/PYD offices in Russia.

He also reiterated Ankara's position that the inclusion of the US-backed YPG in any operation to take Raqqa from Daesh was unacceptable.

He said Turkish forces were ready to work with the US-led coalition on the operation to liberate the city, which is Daesh's de facto capital in Syria, provided the YPG was not involved.

TRT World's Shamim Chowdhury has more from the Turkish-Syrian border town of Gaziantep.

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