Kurdish Official Says Turkey Targeting Civilians

Courtesy: MGN
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A spokesman for the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led force in northern Syria says Turkish warplanes have started targeting "civilian areas" in northern Syria.

Mustafa Bali of the Syrian Democratic Forces says the airstrikes have caused "a huge panic among people of the region."

Bali's tweet on Wednesday afternoon came shortly after Turkish President Erdogan announced in a tweet that a Turkish military offensive into northeast Syria has started.

Turkey has been massing troops for days in preparation for an attack against Kurdish fighters in northeast Syria that Ankara considers a terrorist organization.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is defending his decision to pull back U.S. troops from northeastern Syria, citing a focus on the "BIG PICTURE!"

Trump tweets Wednesday that "GOING INTO THE MIDDLE EAST IS THE WORST DECISION EVER MADE IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY!"

Trump says "stupid endless wars, for us, are ending!" and he is "slowly & carefully" bringing U.S. troops home.

But the decision to leave Syrian Kurds - who supported the U.S. in the fight against Islamic State militants - vulnerable to a military onslaught from Turkey has been condemned by some of Trump's staunchest Republican allies

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday that such a move would be Trump's "biggest mistake" as president.

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