EU top diplomat 'worried' over Turkish operation in Syria

Brussels, Jan 22 (IANS/AKI) The European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Monday voiced concern at the cross-border offensive launched by the Turkish military on Saturday to oust the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) from their Afrin enclave in northern Syria.

"I am very worried," Mogherini told journalists here, saying that she would ask for a meeting with Turkey's European Affairs Minister Omer Celik to "discuss" the ongoing military operation.

"We must be sure that humanitarian access is guaranteed and that the population does not suffer," she said.

Turkish troops, accompanied by allied Syrian rebels, reportedly seized control of several areas in Afrin in the 'Olive Branch' operation on Monday.

Mogherini urged all military action and strategy to be concentrated in flushing out Islamic State jihadists from border areas in the region.

France has called for a UN Security Council meeting later on Monday to discuss developments in flashpoint areas in war-torn Syria, including the Turkish operation.

Eighteen civilians had so far been killed in the Afrin region, The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday. The Britain-based monitoring group said that most the victims were killed in Turkish air strikes over the weekend.

--IANS/AKI

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