MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Turkey has been shelling Kurdish militias in northern Syria along the Turkish border since February. Ankara has claimed that the Syrian Kurds have links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish pro-independence organization considered to be terrorist by Turkey.
"According to the information provided by local residents, a 150-men strong [terrorist] detachment arrived in the north-east of the Latakia province from the Turkish territory in the past 24 hours," the Thursday statement says.
Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting several opposition factions and militant groups, such as the Daesh. Kurdish militias have also been fighting against Daesh, which is outlawed in many countries, including Russia.
Russia has repeatedly called on Turkey to stop facilitating arms shipments across the border with Syria.
In a late March interview with Sputnik Assad called Turkey one of the countries directly supporting terrorism in Syria and Iraq.
A US-Russia-brokered ceasefire came into force across Syria on February 27. It was supported by Damascus, as well as by dozens of opposition groups on the ground. Daesh and Jabhat al-Nusra Front, both outlawed in Russia, were not part of the deal.
