Germany and France also stop arms deliveries to Turkey

Photo: Timon Studler via Unsplash

After Germany and the Netherlands, France has now also temporarily stopped exporting weapons to Turkey. It is not about a total ban but only about the types of weapons that can be used in the Turkish invasion of the Kurds in northern Syria.

On Monday it will be decided whether the EU and NATO will do the same. All Foreign Ministers of the EU Member States are consulting on the position of the European Union on this issue.

France has warned Ankara that the Syrian offensive is endangering Europe's security. The Arab League called for an end to the aggression and the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Turkey from all Syrian territories.

The army of Turkey has since Wednesday engaged in a major operation in Syria, in which hundreds of Kurdish fighters are said to have died. Images of murders along the highway and bombing residential areas are already circulating.

Turkish president Erdogan wants a safe zone in northern Syria & #8217; This area borders on the Kurdish region in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey, and is partly owned by a Kurdish-led coalition. Erdogan sees this group of Kurds as an extension of the PKK, which is regarded by various countries as a terrorist organization.

In recent years, the Kurds in northern Syria have successfully supported US troops and NATO units in the fight against the jihadi fighters of the IS Caliphate. The Kurds now guard multiple prisons where Islamic State (IS) fighters are being held. It is feared that the Turkish attack on the Kurds will lead to the escape or release of those IS fighters.

As a result of the violence, one hundred thousand people have fled northern Syria since Wednesday. Many head south.

The international community has condemned the Turkish action. In response, Erdogan threatens to stop receiving the millions of Syrian refugees who have arrived in Turkey in recent years and want to move on to Europe.

In several European cities, thousands of Kurds took to the streets on Saturday to protest against the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish territory.