土耳其：軍方對敘利亞庫爾德人予以還擊

Turkey's military said Wednesday its forces destroyed Syrian Kurdish targets overnight in retaliation for artillery fire against Turkish-backed forces in northern Syria.

A Turkish army statement said the clashes happened in the Afrin area.

The Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, are a key part of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and in particular the ongoing fight to defeat Islamic State militants in the group's de facto capital of Raqqa.

But Turkey strongly opposes the Kurdish fighters, seeing them as linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, that has been waging an insurgency in southeastern Turkey since the 1980s.

U.S. support for the YPG includes weapons deliveries that Turkey fears will end up in the hands of PKK fighters.

The Turkish government has said U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis gave reassurances that the United States would take back those weapons after Raqqa falls, but Mattis indicated Tuesday that U.S. support for the YPG would continue.

"We'll do what we can," Mattis told reporters traveling with him. But he said the weapons provided to the YPG will depend on the what the next mission is.

"When they don't need certain things anymore, we'll replace those with something they do need," Mattis said.

The U.S. defense chief is due to meet Thursday with his Turkish counterpart during a NATO meeting in Brussels.土耳其軍方星期三說，土耳其部隊夜間摧毀了敘利亞的庫爾德目標，作爲對庫爾德人在敘利亞北部對土耳其支持的部隊發動炮擊的報復。

土耳其軍方發表聲明說，衝突發生在阿夫林地區。

庫爾德人民保衛部隊是美國支持的敘利亞民主部隊的一個主要組成部分，在打擊伊斯蘭國大本營拉卡的伊斯蘭國激進分子的戰鬥中尤其發揮着重要作用。

但是土耳其堅決反對庫爾德武裝力量，認爲他們跟被土耳其取締的庫爾德工人黨有着千絲萬縷的聯繫。庫爾德工人黨自上世紀80年代以來，一直在土耳其東南部開展反叛活動。

美國對庫爾德人民保衛部隊的支持包括向他們輸送武器，而土耳其擔心，這些武器最終會落到庫爾德工人黨戰鬥人員的手中。

土耳其政府曾表示，美國國防部長馬蒂斯保證過，一旦拉卡陷落，美國就會收回這些武器，但是馬蒂斯星期二表示，美國對庫爾德人民保衛部隊的支持將繼續下去。

馬蒂斯告訴隨行記者說：“我們會盡力而爲。”但是他也表示，向庫爾德人民保衛部隊提供什麼樣的武器要取決於接下來的行動。

馬蒂斯說：“如果他們不需要特定的裝備了，我們就更換成他們所需要的。”

馬蒂斯星期四在布魯塞爾參加北約會議時將會見土耳其國防部長。