US urged on Wednesday all parties to immediately stop the escalation in northern Syria.
US Department of Defense issued a statement, stressing that the United States is concerned by escalating the military actions in northern Syria, which in turn destabilizes the security and stability of the region, threatens our goals to fight against the Islamic State, and jeopardizes the lives of civilians.
The statement stressed that Washington “recognizes that Turkey has legitimate security concerns regarding terrorism, but at the same time, we have consistently expressed our serious concerns about the impact of the escalation in Syria on our goals to defeat the Islamic State, and on civilians on both sides of the border.”
The statement expressed “sincere condolences for the loss of civilian life in Syria and Turkey.”
The statement indicated that the Turkish airstrikes on northern Syria “directly threaten the safety of American troops,” stressing that the United States “recognizes Turkey’s legitimate security concerns.”
The Pentagon press secretary, Gen. Patrick Ryder, said in a statement that the airstrikes in Syria directly threatened the safety of US troops who are working in Syria with local partners to defeat the Islamic State, confirming that the “uncoordinated military actions threaten Iraq’s sovereignty.”
