UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash called on Turkey to withdraw forces from Syria as the Arab League emergency meeting ended with a statement condemning Ankara for its latest offensive.
Ankara's offensive is a "direct threat to Arab national security", the bloc said in a statement issued after an emergency meeting of foreign ministers at its headquarters in Cairo.
Last week, Turkey launched an offensive into northeast Syria saying it is battling terrorists. However, the area is under control of US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces — a multi-ethnic force led by Syrian Kurdish groups who have been battling ISIS.
The statement called for "ending the aggression and the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Turkey from all of Syria's land".
"From the very beginning, this aggression led to the killing of innocent people and will certainly result in a humanitarian crisis with thousands of innocent civilians fleeing for safety and security away from the killings," Dr Gargash said.
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A Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighter fires a weapon in the town of Tal Abyad, Syria October 13, 2019. Reuters -
Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighters sit in a military truck in the village of Yabisa, near the Turkish-Syrian border, Syria, October 13, 2019. Reuters -
Smoke rises over the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, as seen from the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar, Turkey. The military action is part of a campaign to extend Turkish control of more of northern Syria, a large swath of which is currently held by Syrian Kurds, whom Turkey regards as a threat. U.S. President Donald Trump granted tacit American approval to this campaign, withdrawing his country's troops from several Syrian outposts near the Turkish border. Getty Images -
Turkish-based Syrian fighters sit inside an armoured personnel carrier near the Syrian border town of Tal Abyad, as they prepare to take part in the Turkish-led assault on northeastern Syria. Ankara stepped up its assault on Kurdish-held border towns in northeastern Syria, defying mounting threats of international sanctions, even from Washington. AFP -
Wounded Turkish-backed Syrian fighters pass Akcakale disrict near Turkey-Syria border wall Akcakale district in Sanliurfa, Turkey. Turkey has launched an offensive targeting Kurdish forces in north-eastern Syria, days after the US withdrew troops from the area. EPA -
A Turkish-backed Syrian rebel rests as they gather near the border town of Ras al-Ain, as Turkey and it's allies continued their assault on Kurdish-held border towns in northeastern Syria. Turkey kept up its assault on Kurdish-held border towns in northeastern Syria on Saturday on the fourth day of an offensive that is drawing growing international condemnation, even from Washington. AFP -
People mourn in front of the grave of Halil Yagmur who was killed in a mortar attack a day earlier in Suruc near northern Syria border, during funeral ceremony in Suruc. Ten Turkish civilians were killed in cross-border shelling on Friday, while four of Turkey's soldiers died as Ankara pressed on with its offensive against Kurdish militants in Syria. Eight civilians were killed and 35 injured in one mortar strike in Nusaybin in Mardin province, according to the governor's office cited by local media. AFP -
A group of Turkey-backed Syrian fighters prepares for offensive at a village near Turkish border in Yabisa, Syria in this still image taken from a video. Reuters -
A Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighter sits with his weapon near the border town of Tel Abyad, Syria. REUTERS -
This picture taken Turkey near the town of Suruc shows a US observation post near the Syrian town of Kobani Kobane where the Pentagon said an explosion occurred "within a few hundred meters." The US said on October 11, 2019 its troops had come under artillery fire and warned that the US was prepared to meet aggression with "immediate defensive action," but Turkey denied targeting the US base. Turkey's Defense minister said they had returned fire after Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) shelled a Turkish border police station from hills located one kilometre (1,100 yards) away from the observation post. US troops pulled back from positions along the Turkey-Syria border last week ahead of a Turkish operation against Kurdish militants in Syria. The YPG was a close ally of the US in its fight against the Islamic State group but is seen by Ankara as a "terrorist" off-shoot of Kurdish insurgents in Turkey. AFP -
A Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighter holds the Syrian opposition flag near the border town of Tel Abyad, Syria. REUTERS -
Relatives mourn during a funeral of a Syrian Democratic Forces fighter in the Syrian town of Qamishli, Turkey's military says it has captured a key Syrian border town Ras al-Ayn under heavy bombardment in its most significant gain as its offensive against Kurdish fighters presses into its fourth day. AP Photo -
Turkish-backed Syrian opposition fighters evacuate an injured fellow combatant in Tel Abyad, Syria. AP -
Syrians bury Syrian Democratic Forces fighters killed fighting Turkish advance in the Syrian town of Qamishli, Turkey's military says it has captured a key Syrian border town Ras al-Ayn under heavy bombardment in its most significant gain as its offensive against Kurdish fighters presses into its fourth day. AP Photo -
Turkish police special forces patrol in Akcakale on the Turkish-Syrian border, in Sanliurfa province, Turkey. REUTERS -
A Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighter holds a weapon as he stands with his fellow fighters near the border town of Tel Abyad, Syria. REUTERS -
A Turkish military armoured vehicle fires towards the Syrian town of Tal Abyad from the Turkish side of the border in Akcakale, Turkey. The military action is part of a campaign to extend Turkish control of more of northern Syria, a large swath of which is currently held by Syrian Kurds, whom Turkey regards as a threat. U.S. President Donald Trump granted tacit American approval to this campaign, withdrawing his country's troops from several Syrian outposts near the Turkish border. Getty Images -
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu visits the Syrian border, in Akcakale district in Sanliurfa, Turkey. Turkey has launched an offensive targeting Kurdish forces in north-eastern Syria, days after the US withdrew troops from the area. EPA -
Syrian patient Fatima al-Issa who was hit by shrapnel during Turkish bombardment of Ras al-Ain, receives treatment at a hospital in the town of Tal Tamr in the countryside of Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province. Ankara stepped up its assault on Kurdish-held border towns in northeastern Syria in an offensive that has so far displaced some 100,000 people, according to the United Nations, while aid groups have warned of yet another humanitarian disaster in Syria's eight-year-old war if the offensive is not stopped. AFP
He added that the minimum action that Arab countries should take is to adopt a firm response to aggression against any Arab country that is seen as aggression against the national security of all Arab states.
He said the Turkish assault on northeast Syria represents “a flagrant aggression against the sovereignty of a fellow Arab country and an exploitation of the conditions that country is currently facing in contravention of all relevant international laws and norms and in a bid to destabilise the region.”
He expressed the UAE's utmost condemnation of Turkish aggression in Syria as unacceptable.
"The UAE considers it necessary to play an active Arab role in Syria and to be spurred by this aggression to take necessary measures to confront any incursions against Arab territories," Dr Gargash said.
A number of civilians have already been killed in the Turkish assault and there are reports from a human rights monitor that pro-Ankara fighters executed nine civilians including a female politician.
“The nine civilians were executed at different moments south of the town of Tal Abyad,” Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK based war monitor, said.
Kurdish forces named the politician as Hevrin Khalaf and said her driver was also among those killed on Saturday.
Khalaf, 35, was "taken out of her car during a Turkish-backed attack and executed by Turkish-backed mercenary factions", the political arm of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said. "This is clear evidence that the Turkish state is continuing its criminal policy towards unarmed civilians."
Dr Gargash said the stated objective of the Turkish incursion into Syria to fight terrorism was suspicious as the action “will only lead to the strengthening of terrorists' capabilities”, saying that ISIS may take advantage of the chaos to stage a resurgence.
Kurdish forces have tens of thousands of ISIS fighters and supporters in detention camps and prisons across the area of northeast Syria. With Kurdish forces saying they have pulled fighters back from guarding the camps to fight Turkey, they say at least five ISIS prisoners have escaped and reports suggest more may have broken out.
