ISTANBUL: President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Turkey’s militaryincursion in northern Syria’s Idlib province would crush Kurdish militiaforces that control the neighboring region of Afrin.

The Kurdish YPG militia said Turkish forces inside Syria fired shells intoAfrin on Saturday, but no one was wounded.

Turkish troops entered Idlib three months ago after an agreement withRussia and Iran for the three countries to try to reduce fighting betweenpro-Syrian government forces and rebel fighters in the largest remaininginsurgent-held part of Syria.

But the few observation posts which the Turkish army says it hasestablished are close to the dividing line between Arab rebel-held land andthe Kurdish-controlled region of Afrin.

“If the terrorists in Afrin don’t surrender we will tear them down,”Erdogan told a congress of his ruling AK Party in the eastern Turkish cityof Elazig.

The Kurdish YPG militia said Turkish forces stationed in Syria shelledseveral Kurdish villages in the Afrin region on Saturday, without causingcasualties.

Rojhat Roj, the YPG spokesman in Afrin, told Reuters the shelling wascarried out by Turkish forces in Dar Taizaah and Qalat Seman – areas wherehe said Turkish forces had deployed as part of the agreement with Russiaand Iran.

“From our side, there is no shelling at present,” he added.

Erdogan has said the Kurdish YPG militia is trying to establish a “terrorcorridor” on Turkey’s southern border, linking Afrin with a largeKurdish-controlled area to the east.

In 2016 Turkey launched its Euphrates Shield military offensive in northernSyria to push back Daesh from the border and drive a wedge between theKurdish controlled regions.

“With the Euphrates Shield operation we cut the terror corridor right inthe middle. We hit them one night suddenly. With the İdlib operation, weare collapsing the western wing,” Erdogan said, referring to Afrin.

He also said Turkey could drive YPG forces out of Manbij. The mainly Arabtown lies west of the Euphrates, and Turkey has long demanded that Kurdishfighters pull back east of the river.

“In Manbij, if they break the promises, we will take the matter in our ownhands until there are no terrorists left. They will see what we’ll do inabout a week,” Erdogan said.

Turkey was a major supporter of rebels fighting to overthrow Syria’sPresident Bashar al-Assad, but is alarmed by the strength of Kurdish forces- which Ankara says are linked to Kurdish militants fighting in southeastTurkey.

It has criticized the United States for arming YPG and Arab fighters in theSyrian Democratic Forces, which drove Daesh out of Raqqa and other parts ofSyria.

“The US sent 4,900 trucks of weapons in Syria. We know this. This is notwhat allies do,” Erdogan said. “We know they sent 2,000 planes full ofweapons.” – Agencies