Free Syrian Army Joins Turkish Operation in Syria

Turkish-backed Syrian forces from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) on Wednesday, October 9, joined the Turkish incursion against Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria.

Overnight footage showed FSA fighters preparing for the battle and firing mortars near the town of Azaz.

Turkish ground forces pressed their advance against Kurdish fighters in northern Syria on Thursday, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said, launching airstrikes and unleashing artillery shelling on Syrian towns and villages the length of its border.

The Turkish invasion, now in its second day, has been widely condemned around the world. In northern Syria, residents of the border areas scrambled in panic on Wednesday as they tried to get out on foot, in cars and with rickshaws piled with mattresses and a few belongings.

It was a wrenchingly familiar scenario for the many who, only a few years ago, had fled the advances on their towns and villages by the Islamic State group.