Trump issues stern warning to Turkey over Syria operation

Which side of this conflict are our allies on and who are our allies?

"President Trump urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday to scale back his country’s assault on Kurdish positions in Syria, signaling mounting American anxiety that Ankara’s latest military foray will jeopardize the U.S. campaign against the Islamic State and undermine hopes for peace talks aimed at ending the war in Syria.

In a call, Trump told Erdogan that the intensifying conflict in Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Syria “risks undercutting our shared goals in Syria,” according to a White House statement that described the two leaders’ conversation in pointed terms.

Trump “urged Turkey to de-escalate, limit its military actions, and avoid civilian casualties and increases to displaced persons and refugees,” the statement said.

The U.S. leader also voiced concern, as tensions spike between the NATO allies, about “destructive and false rhetoric coming from Turkey,” the White House said."

" On Wednesday, Turkey said that 287 Kurdish or Islamic State fighters had been killed, captured or had surrendered, according to a military statement carried by the semiofficial Anadolu news agency. Despite the Turkish claims, Islamic State fighters are not known to be in the areas Turkey is attacking. A monitoring group, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that at least 32 civilians had been killed in the offensive — which Turkey has dubbed “Operation Olive Branch.”

More @Wapo: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/in-call-trump-iss...