Sputnik- Turkey threatens to start a military operation in Syria's Afrin amid reports of the country's shelling the areas.



"We warn the Turkish leadership that if they initiate combat operations in�the Afrin area, that will be considered an act of�aggression by�the Turkish army," deputy foreign minister Faisal Meqdad told reporters.


The statement was made after�Turkish Foreign Minister�Mevlut Cavusoglu's statement made earlier in�the day, saying that Ankara would intervene in�Syria's Afrin and Manbij, citing the threat posed by�the Kurdish militants to�the integrity of�the Syrian border.

Meanwhile, the�Turkey's�General Staff�has reportedly put the troops on�the border with�Syria on�high alert,�preparing for�a possible operation in�Syrian Afrin against�the armed formations of�the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey considers a terrorist organization, associated with�the banned in�the country Kurdistan Workers Party.

Turkey has been threatening to�begin an operation against�in�Afrin after�the�US-led coalition's announcement concerning the training of�a border protection force composed of�the Kurdish�Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which mostly consists of�the YPG, in�northern Syria.

Recently there occurred media reports claiming that the Turkish armed forces shelled�territory under�control�of�the Kurdish forces in�Afrin, but�there was no official confirmation to�this information.

As US-led coalition's Col. Thomas Veale has explained, the SDF�training aimed to�create a�30,000-strong force�to�maintain security along�Syria's borders, prompting harsh condemnation from�Damascus�and Ankara.

The�US�Military Presence in�Syria

A position, similar to�the�Meqdad's one has been voiced regarding the US presence on�the Syrian soul by�a source in�the Syrian Foreign Ministry, as�quoted by�the state-run SANA news agency on�January 18, who said that the internal affairs of�any country should be managed by�the people of�that country.
"The internal affairs in�any country in�the world is an exclusive right of�the people of�that country, thus nobody has the right to�only give his opinion in�that because this violates the international law and contradicts the most important theories of�the constitutional law," the source said, adding that the US presence and all of�Washington�s activities in�Syria aim to�protect Daesh.





The comment was made after�US State Secretary Rex Tillerson's statement, made on�January 17, saying that the United States would continue maintaining its military presence in�Syria to�prevent the re-emergence of�the Daesh terrorist group (banned in�Russia), and called on�US allies to�increase economic pressure on�Syrian President Bashar Assad. According to�Tillerson, the US diplomatic activities in�Syria will be aimed at�stabilizing the situation in�the country, which does not involve open-ended�nation-building�or reconstruction of�the war-torn country, and will seek to�deter Iran�s efforts to�achieve greater influence in�the region.