Turkey Making Good on a Promise to Attack a Kurdish Militia

Turkey on Wednesday sent warplanes and fired artillery rounds into an area just over the border with Syria, making good on a promise to attack a Kurdish militia it accuses of supporting Turkish Kurds seeking autonomy. Dubbed Operation Peace Spring, the move comes just two days after the Trump Administration announced it would be withdrawing US troops who had been providing training and logistical support to the militia, which calls itself the YPG, or “Peoples Defense Units.” The YPG has been fighting against forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and was instrumental in destroying strongholds belonging to Islamic State. The Turks, however, prefer to call the incursion the beginning of a plan to create a “safe zone” for displaced Syrians, probably including some of the 3.6 million who have found refuge inside Turkey, leading to resentment among Turkish citizens facing high inflation and a faltering economy.