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The Facts
Police are reporting a large number of casualties after an explosion Wednesday evening in the Turkish capital.
Ankara Governor Mehmet Kılıçlar said 18 people were killed and 45 injured by what officials believe was a car bomb. Turkey's interior ministry confirmed the death toll. Health Minister Mehmet Müezzinoğlu said 61 people being treated at 14 hospitals across the city, but many of them are likely lightly wounded. Müezzinoğlu said the death toll at the scene may be 20 or 21 and that three people have died in hospitals.
The blast occurred during rush hour in an area of central Ankara that houses parliament, government buildings and the military headquarters.
Dogan News Agency said the bomb hit a bus transporting military personnel around 6:30 p.m. Local residents said the blast damaged nearby homes, blowing out windows and even damaging a steel door at one residence. Images posted on social media showed several burned-out vehicles and buildings in the area.
In a statement, the army confirmed the attack targeted soldiers who were waiting at a red light in two buses. When the bomb went off, the first bus exploded immediately. Most people on the second bus were thought to be lightly wounded, France 24 reported. About 30 people were discharged from hospitals by 2:30 a.m., Daily Sabah reported.
Around 7:15 p.m., Turkey's Radio and Television Supreme Council announced a ban on media coverage of the bombing.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan convened an emergency security meeting following the attack.
No one has claimed responsibility for the bomb. A number of attacks have been carried out across the country in recent months by separatist Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) and Islamic State militants, as well as the left-wing Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C).
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The 28 victims' names are released: http://www.diken.com.tr/ankara... 12 are soldiers, the rest civilians, most likely working at the ministries.
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Ankara bomb was Fiat Doblo loaded with explosives, likely a suicide bomber at the helm: http://www.sozcu.com.tr/mobil/...
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UPDATE - 30 of the 61 wounded in #AnkaraBlast have been discharged from hospital: Turkish General Staff http://sabahdai.ly/WobOCy
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Health Minister says 61 hospitalized after the Ankara attack, death toll may rise http://www.hurriyetdailynews.c...
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The Facts
People who have been convicted of murder under the controversial law of joint enterprise may be able to appeal their convictions after the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday trial judges had been wrongly interpreting part of that law.
The highest court in the U.K. ruled prosecutors, judges and jurors must take a different approach when dealing with defendants in such cases.
Under joint enterprise law, a person who assists or encourages the committing of a crime can be held as legally responsible as the person who carries it out.
Five supreme court justices said that for decades courts had been in “error” in treating the fact that a secondary, co-accused had foresight that the principal attacker might carry out a killing as sufficient proof of guilt in assisting or encouraging them.
“The correct position is that foresight of what the principal might do is evidence from which the jury may infer that he intended to assist or encourage to do so,” Lord Neuberger, the president of the supreme court, said.
The Supreme Court has now overturned two cases of murder where it is claimed the defendants should have had "foresight" that a murder was likely to take place.
One of the cases relates to the fatal stabbing of Paul Fyfe in 2011.
Mohammed Hirsi was convicted of the stabbing, while Ameen Jogee was convicted of murder under joint enterprise.
At his trial, it was claimed Jogee actively encouraged Hirsi to attack Fyfe and must have had foresight that it was likely he would be murdered.
Ameen Jogee claimed he was not in the room when the victim was murdered and did not see the knife, so could not have had knowledge that a murder would be committed.
The Supreme Court agreed with Jogee's appeal, ruling that foresight is simple evidence of intent to assist or encourage, rather than proof someone knew a murder would result.
Thursday's ruling could pave the way for hundreds of prisoners who have been convicted by joint enterprise to seek appeals.
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Correcting the joint enterprise law won’t lead to mass prison releases | Joshua Rozenberg
The UK supreme court has made a landmark ruling after 30 years, but what are the implications?
see original story at www.theguardian.com
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Joint enterprise law wrongly interpreted for 30 years, court rules
Decision by supreme court likely to trigger rush of applications to court of appeal
see original story at www.theguardian.com
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Murder law misinterpreted for 30 years - BBC News
The law which allowed people to be convicted of murder even if they did not inflict the fatal blow has been wrongly interpreted for more than 30 years, the Supreme Court rules.
see original story at www.bbc.co.uk
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The Facts
Humanitarian aid convoys have been dispatched to seven besieged areas of Syria, the United Nations announced.
Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. special envoy for Syria said trucks will deliver food and medical aid to the southwestern cities of Madaya and Zabadani; Kafr Batna in Ghouta; and Fouah and Kefraya in the northwest.
The first convoy of 35 trucks reached the Damascus suburb of Muadhamiya on Wednesday afternoon, BBC reported. In total, trucks reached five cities and about 100,000 people, said Yacoub el-Hillo, the U.N.'s humanitarian coordinator.
The deliveries are part of a multinational agreement reached by the International Syria Support Group last week in Munich. The ISSG hopes the deliveries will pave the way for a cessation of hostilities between government and rebel forces by the end of this week.
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UN Syria aid coordinator Yacoub el-Hillo:"Today, we reached 5 besieged towns in urgent need of humanitarian assistance," for almost 100k ppl
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First convoy of 35 trucks arrive at besieged Syrian town of Muadhamiya, state media and aid agencies say http://bbc.in/1PQvS1s
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Syria: humanitarian aid convoys readied for starving civilians
Food and medicine packages are expected to be sent to seven besieged locations including Madaya and Zabadani
see original story at www.theguardian.com
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The Facts
On Wednesday, Apple said it will contest a court order to help the FBI access data on the iPhone belonging to San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook.
Judge Sheri Pym of U.S. District Court in Los Angeles ordered Apple on Tuesday to help the government unlock the iPhone 5C used by one of the shooters responsible for the Dec. 2 San Bernardino, Calif. terrorist attacks after the Cupertino, Calif.-based company didn’t volunteer to help.
Apple CEO, Tim Cook said in a statement: "The United States government has demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers.
We oppose this order, which has implications far beyond the legal case at hand."
Google CEO Sundar Pichai weighed in on Twitter late Monday, saying that "we know that law enforcement and intelligence agencies face significant challenges in protecting the public against crime and terrorism. We build secure products to keep your information safe and we give law enforcement access to data based on valid legal orders. But that's wholly different than requiring companies to enable hacking of customer devices and data."
The Justice Department sought the order for “gaining crucial evidence” about the shooting rampage that killed 14 people and injured another 22.
The order asks Apple to disable the feature that wipes the phone’s data after 10 incorrect tries at entering a password, so the government can crack the password with “brute force,” but Apple said the FBI's demand set "a dangerous precedent.”
"The FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation," Cook said.
"The government is asking Apple to hack our own users and undermine decades of security advancements that protect our customers. Opposing this order is not something we take lightly. We feel we must speak up in the face of what we see as an overreach by the U.S. government," he added.
Syed Farook and his ex-wife Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people and wounded 21 others in San Bernardino on Dec. 2. Both were killed hours later in a gun battle with police.
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1/5 Important post by @tim_cook. Forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users’ privacy
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Incredible. Apple's letter to customers about the US Gov's demands that it unlocks phones http://www.apple.com/customer-...
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Mass Shooting in California Leaves 14 Dead, 21 Wounded
Mass Shooting in California Leaves 14 Dead, 21 Wounded Grasswire | Your Newsroom
see original story at grasswire.com
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Judge orders Apple to help unlock iPhone used by Calif. shooter
Industry officials said it is unlikely Apple can help because the phones are engineered not to be broken.
see original story at www.washingtonpost.com
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The Facts
Twitter will begin rolling out native GIF support to its iOS, Android, and web apps.
Users will be able to tap a GIF button in the tweet composer, search for GIFs using keywords, and insert them into tweets or direct messages. The feature is being powered by GIF search engines Giphy and Riffsy.
"So much can be expressed with GIFs, and the key is to find just the right one in the moment that quickly and efficiently expresses your emotions," Riffsy co-founder and CEO David McIntosh said in a statement.
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The GIFs are coming! Get ready to search and send GIFs in Tweets and Direct Messages: https://blog.twitter.com/2016/...
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Twitter rolls out native GIF search powered by Giphy and Riffsy
Native GIF search is now part of messaging apps from Tinder to Facebook Messenger, and starting today you can see it on Twitter as well. The company said today that it will begin rolling out a GIF...
see original story at www.theverge.com
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The Facts
Farmers across northern France blocked roads and snarled traffic in the latest protest against low prices.
The farmers blocked traffic with truck convoys in 18 locations across Normandy, Brittany and the Pays de la Loire, AFP reported. They dumped hay on a road in Brittany and manure outside a slaughterhouse in the Normandy town of Le Neubourg.
This series of protests began last week. The union has decided to boycott a planned meeting with the government in Rennes.
France's largest farmer's union, Fédération Nationale des Syndicats d'Exploitants Agricoles, says high taxes, declining food prices, and the embargo on western products from Russia pose an immediate danger.
The union is angry over the falling prices of beef, milk and pork and what they see as the government's refusal to help their ailing businesses. According to a report in The Independent on Monday, prices for beef, dairy and pork have fallen nearly 40 percent in the last 8 months.
Farmers say strict environmental laws, stronger than those faced by other European Union farmers, make foreign competition more difficult.
French President François Hollande promised last week to reduce social taxes on farmers. But aid promised last year to farmers in the southern town of Lozere will not be dispersed until the end of 2016, AFP reported.
The French government has pressured EU officials in Brussels to intervene and take surplus agricultural products off the market.
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French farmers block roads in 'distress call' over low prices
Farmers in northwestern France used their tractors to snarl traffic across the region Wednesday, demanding urgent government action in the face of plunging prices
see original story at www.dailystar.com.lb
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Chaos expected as French farmers blockade towns: http://www.thelocal.fr/2016021...
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How angry French farmers have reacted to the huge drop in milk and pork prices http://ind.pn/20zqgOa
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The Facts
At least 53 people are dead after a bus and truck collided head-on in Ghana.
The crash reduced the bus to mangled wreckage.
According to police, the government-operated bus was en route to the northern town of Tamale Wednesday evening when it collided with a truck carrying tomatoes.
According to authorities, rescuers were forced to saw through wreckage to retrieve victims' bodies.
"It was very serious," regional police spokesperson Christopher Tawiah said. "Many of them were already dead. We had to use chainsaws to cut through parts of the mangled bus to get bodies and survivors out."
According to Tawiah, 23 people are currently receiving treatment in hospitals.
(Image: Sky News)
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Received the sad news of an accident involving a M.M.T. Bus on the Kintampo- Tamale road. Condolences to those who've lost loved ones.
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Dozens Dead After Ghana Bus Collides With Truck
Rescuers are forced to use chainsaws to cut through the mangled wreckage after one of the deadliest road accidents in years.
see original story at news.sky.com
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The Facts
Pope Francis held an historic mass event when he gathered at the Mexican - US Border of both Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas on Wednesday evening. The head of the Roman Catholic Church concluded a week long journey that took the Pontiff over Cuba and Mexico.
Pope Francis took a moment during the final mass of his Mexican stay, to walk up a ramp next to the borderline that divides the US and Mexican nations. On the US side of El Paso TX, dozens where blessed by the Pontiff prior to leading the mass at "El Punto" Fairgrounds in Ciudad Juarez. The same mass was streamed to the nearby SunBowl Stadium in the State of Texas, US side.
Pope Francis acknowledged the presence of the US citizens celebrations and thanked them for keeping the faith united in a divided world. Once the mass was over, Pope Francis boarded back the airplane known as Sheppard One and flew back to The Vatican.
The last time the Holy See's Pontiff came to the US, was back in September 2015. At the time of his visit, he planned to enter from the US Border into Mexico after attending the Philadelphia's World Meeting Of Families. However due to security issues, that part of the trip did not materialized.
Thousands where expected to cross borders for the mass celebrations along the Mexican town of Juarez. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) border patrol agents where speeding on the process for those wanting see Francis in Mexico. El Paso Police Department set up security points along the highways leading to the border crossings and ordered the closure of the border town of Chihuahuita, which is the closest point where Francis reached out to the masses in both nations.
(Header Image: http://reportecatolicolaico.com/) -
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Pope Francis initially had a different plan for his visit today to the U.S.-Mexico border http://nyti.ms/20EOCWS
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Pope concludes Mexico trip with visits to prison, US border http://goo.gl/t38GLu
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El Paso Police update Road Closures during Pope Francis Visit - El Paso Herald-Post
The El Paso Herald-Post delivers El Paso News & Opinion from local people that ask you to consider their opinion and politely asking for your view.
see original story at elpasoheraldpost.com
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The Facts
Yahoo is shutting down several of its content verticals, including Yahoo Food, Yahoo Health, Yahoo Parenting, Yahoo Makers, Yahoo Travel, Yahoo Autos and Yahoo Real Estate, according to Global Editor-in-Chief Martha Nelson.
Editors of the eliminated verticals are being laid off.
"As we make these changes, we acknowledge the talent and dedication of an extraordinary group of journalists who brought new and newsworthy content to Yahoo," Nelson wrote in a Tumblr post. "While these Digital Magazines will no longer be published, you will continue to find the topics they covered, as well as style, celebrity, entertainment, politics, tech, and much more across our network."
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Focusing Our Digital Content Efforts
Focusing Our Digital Content Efforts By Martha Nelson, Global Editor-in-Chief On our recent earnings call, Yahoo outlined out a plan to simplify our business and focus our effort on our four most...
see original story at yahoo.tumblr.com
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The Facts
At least 23 civilians were reported killed on Monday in a series of air strikes in three separate hospitals in northern Syria.
A facility supported by Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders was destroyed Monday after being hit by four missiles in two separate attacks, the charity reported. The hospital is in Al-Hamidiah, Idlib province, just south of Maarat-al Numan, according to the Institute for Conflict Analysts.
"This is a deliberate attack against a health establishment and the destruction of this hospital deprives about 40,000 people of healthcare in this conflict zone," said Massimiliano Rebaudengo, MSF head of mission.
The hospital has 54 staff and holds 30 beds. It is financed by MSF, which also supplies medicine and equipment to the facility. At least seven people were killed and eight staff members are still missing. MSF president Mego Terzian told Reuters he believed Russian or Syrian forces were responsible.
A separate air strike on a hospital and other targets in the rebel-held town of Azaz killed at at least 14 people.
A Turkish security official said seven Russian missiles hit a hospital in the northern Syrian town of Azaz on Monday, a claim Russia has rejected. The facility, supported by the French Syria Charity, performs maternity and pediatric services.
The Independent Doctors Association, a Syrian non-government organization that runs a hospital in the border city Bab al-Salama, said at least 30 people were wounded in the Azaz strikes.
A third facility - the national hospital in Maarat-al Numan city - was also reported struck Monday morning. The facility is also run by MSF and was treating survivors of the earlier strikes in Al-Hamidiah, BuzzFeed News reported. The Syrian-American Medical Society, which supports the hospital, said four people were killed and five injured.
UNICEF said it was investigating reports that two schools were hit in Azaz, killing six children.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement that 50 civilians, including children, were killed.
The strikes come just days after the International Syria Support Group - which includes Russia - agreed to a multilateral "cessation of hostilities" plan to allow humanitarian access to besieged areas of Syria.
At least 240 medical facilities have been attacked since the war began in 2011, according to the World Health Organization and Physicians for Human Rights. A third of hospitals and a quarter of schools in Syria are no longer functioning, UNICEF said.
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6 MSF supported hospitals bombed since beginning of 2016: 14 deaths among staff, in total 17 health facilities bombed in 6 weeks #Syria
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Idlib airstrike update: 9 staff killed, 10 injured. 16 hospital visitors dead #SyriaCrisis http://msf.me/1XxDIlQ
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Survivors found alive in the @MSF hospital in Maarat Numaan bombed 36 hours ago. #sothatothersmaylive
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Reports of 2 schools attacked in #Azaz #Syria reportedly killing 6 children @UNICEF is urgently seeking more info http://uni.cf/1ogJdsy
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The Facts
Iraqi security forces have rescued three American contractors kidnapped last month in Baghdad, the U.S. State Department has confirmed.
The three went missing on Jan. 15 from Dora, a neighborhood in the southern part of Baghdad, two U.S. officials told ABC News.
The State Department said Tuesday it "welcomes the news that the government of Iraq has secured the release of three U.S. citizens."
The identities of the contractors have not been released. Early reports suggested an Iran-linked militia was behind their abduction but Iraqi Prime Minister dismissed the rumors last month. Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi said on Jan. 21 that he believed an organized gang was responsible. -
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Breaking: Three Americans kidnapped in Baghdad last month have been released: Iraqi media
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Three #Americans kidnapped in #Iraq have been reportedly freed by Counter Terrorism forces. http://www.ara.shafaaq.com/560... #Baghdad
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Iraqi PM Doubts Iran Linked to Missing Americans
Iraqi PM Doubts Iran Linked to Missing Americans Grasswire | Your Newsroom
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The Facts
Bosnia-Herzegovina has submitted its application to join the 28-state European Union.
"As some forces across our continent are questioning the very existence of our union, Bosnia-Herzegovina's application shows that the need of a united European continent is still strong among our peoples," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said.
The EU could grant the country candidate status this year or in 2017 but the path to membership could take years.
The process largely depends on how quickly the state completes reforms to its complicated - and sometimes dysfunctional - government system.
Bosnia-Herzegovina is the last of the former Yugoslavian republics to attempt to join the EU.
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Bosnia-Herzegovina applies for membership in European Union
Continuing a process that started in 2008, Bosnia-Herzegovina submitted their application to join the 28-state European Union.
see original story at www.upi.com
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The Facts
Two former officials from Russia's anti-doping agency have died within 10 days of each other, just months after Moscow was suspended from world sport over doping allegations.
Nikita Kamayev, 52, died unexpectedly of a massive heart attack over the weekend, the news agency Tass reported on Monday.
Kamayev resigned as executive director of RUSADA in December after the International Association of Athletics Federations suspended Russia indefinitely from world sporting events over drug allegations.
RUSADA acting director, Anna Antseliovich, told the state-run R-Sport that Kamayev's death was a surprise. "This is a big loss and surprise for us. He never complained about his heart and wasn’t sick," Antseliovich said.
The agency's founder, Vyacheslav Sinev, died on Feb. 3, according to an agency statement. The cause of death has not been released.
A 350-page World Anti-Doping Agency report released in November accused Russia of covering up athletes' use of performance-enhancing drugs, including at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. WADA accused state intelligence offers of interfering with the anti-doping lab in Moscow.
(Image: Russian Cross-Country Skiing and Biathlon athletes in Sochi in 2012/Press service of the government of Russia/Wikimedia/CC BY 4.0) -
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Former Russian anti-doping chief Nikita Kamayev dies
Rusada says Kamayev, who resigned as agency’s executive director two months ago following doping scandal, had heart attack.
see original story at www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/feb/15/former-russian-anti-doping-chief-nikita-kamayev-dies-report
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Nikita Kamayev, Ex-Head of Russian Antidoping Agency, Dies
A former director of the disgraced Russian antidoping agency has died unexpectedly, a state news agency reported on Monday, becoming the second of its top officials to die this month.
see original story at www.nytimes.com/2016/02/16/world/europe/nikita-kamayev-ex-head-of-russian-antidoping-agency-dies.html?_r=0
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Russia Provisionally Suspended From World Sports: IAAF
Russia Provisionally Suspended From World Sports: IAAF Grasswire | Your Newsroom
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The Facts
The Turkish military struck targets in northern Syria on Saturday, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu confirmed.
The shelling comes despite an agreement by the International Syria Support Group - led by the United States and Russia - aimed at creating the conditions for a “cessation of hostilities” in Syria in a week’s time.
Davutoğlu said on the Turkish state TV station TRT Haber that the shelling was retaliation under Turkey’s rules of engagement against forces that represented a threat. He said the targets were Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).
“We will retaliate against every step. The YPG will immediately withdraw from Azaz and the surrounding area and will not go close to it again,” Davutoğlu said.
Tens of thousands of Syrians who have fled fighting in Aleppo are currently in the area between Azaz and the Turkish border because Ankara is limiting the number of people allowed to enter the country.
Shelling has been reported both north of Aleppo city and in the north west of the country. The Menagh air base, a former Syrian Air Force facility that Syrian Democratic Forces - an alliance of Kurdish, Arab and other militias - took from anti-government rebels just days ago was targeted, along with other positions between the airport and the Turkish border, including Azaz.
Areas of Aleppo, including Menagh, were struck, according to Rami Abdel Rahman from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group.
A Kurdish official confirmed the shelling of Menagh, but he said it was held by the Jaysh al-Thuwar group rather than the YPG. Both are allied with the SDF.
The operation comes amid growing Turkish anger at perceived U.S. support for the YPG. Turkey regards the group as a terrorist organisation and an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency since 1984 for autonomy in southeast Turkey. The PKK has been declared a terrorist organization by the European Union and NATO but not by the United Nations.
SDF forces were reported on Saturday to be attacking Tal Rifaat, a town south of Menagh air base, taking advantage of earlier Russian air attacks on rebel positions there. This has not yet been confirmed.
Aleppo city and province has come under sustained air and ground attack in recent days as government forces backed by the Russian air force have made major advances in an attempt to surround the city and cut supply lines to rebels.
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#UPDATE #US urges Turkey to cease artillery fire targeting Kurdish militia in #Syria http://www.todayszaman.com/lat...
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UPDATE: Turkey shells YPG targets in northern Syria in retaliation http://bit.ly/1PTonKK
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Turkey confirms military strikes against the Syrian regime http://ind.pn/1KhoRK8
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Turkey shells Kurdish forces in Syria 'in retaliation for attack on border posts' http://d.gu.com/KVY6zb
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