Summary
Turkey will not let Kurdish militia fighters backed by the United States establish a foothold on its border in northern Syria and will not stop shelling if its security is threatened, President Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday.
Their gains have infuriated Turkey, which has shelled YPG positions in Syria in response to what it says is fire coming across the border. They have also complicated wider efforts to end the Syrian conflict, deepening divisions between NATO member Turkey and the United States, which views the YPG as a useful ally in the fight against Islamic State.
Azaz is the last rebel stronghold before the border with Turkey north of the Syrian city of Aleppo, part of what was, before the Syrian government offensive, a supply route from Turkey to the rebels fighting President Bashar Assad.
Turkey, home to more than 2.6 million Syrian refugees, has long pushed for the creation of a safe zone in Syria to protect displaced civilians without bringing them into Turkey.
Akdogan said another 600,000 people could flee to the Turkish border if Aleppo falls to the Syrian army.
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