US urges immediate de-escalation in Northern Syria

US urges immediate de-escalation in Northern Syria
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US State Department spokesperson Ned Price reiterated Washington’s “deep” concern over Turkey’s recent military action

The United States on Thursday urged an immediate de-escalation in Northern Syria.

“We understand Turkey has legitimate security concerns regarding terrorism. At the same time, we have consistently communicated our serious concerns about the impact of escalation in Syria on our D-ISIS goals and on civilians on both sides of the border,” US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a written statement.

Reiterating Washington’s “deep” concern over the recent military action, Price said it “destabilizes the region, threatens the shared goal to fight the Islamic State and endangers civilians and U.S. personnel”.

Turkey at the weekend has launched airstrikes into Northern Syria and Iraq targeting Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its Syrian affiliate Kurdish People’s Protection Units’ (YPG) bases, in response to an Istanbul bomb attack on Nov.13 that has left six people dead and 81 wounded.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said the aerial campaign is just the beginning and Turkey will also launch a ground operation when convenient. The PKK and the YPG denied involvement.