Turkey Accuses Kurdish Militia Of Using Banned Weapons For Provocations

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar refuted on Thursday reports that his army uses prohibited and chemical weapons in its northeast Syria offensive and accused the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) of applying such weapons with the aim of provocations

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th October, 2019) Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar refuted on Thursday reports that his army uses prohibited and chemical weapons in its northeast Syria offensive and accused the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) of applying such weapons with the aim of provocations.

The Kurdish Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria previously said that Turkish troops were using prohibited white phosphorus and napalm during their military operation in northern Syria.

"There are no chemical or prohibited weapons in our arsenal. But we have the information that the terrorist organization [YPG] uses such weapons and tries to lay blame on us.

They try to cast a shadow on Turkey with fake news," Akar said, as quoted by the NTV broadcaster.

Turkey began the offensive, dubbed Operation Peace Spring, in northern Syria on October 9 with the aim of setting up a 20-mile buffer zone free of any Kurdish presence along its border with Syria. Damascus has called the operation an invasion and deployed its troops to the north of the country. The international community has condemned the operation, with the US and EU imposing sanctions.