By Canadian Press

IS supporters escape as Turkish troops near key Syrian town

Oct 13, 2019 | 4:06 AM

AKCAKALE, Turkey — Turkish forces approached a key Kurdish-held town in northern Syria on Sunday, setting off clashes that allowed hundreds of Islamic State supporters to escape from a camp for displaced people near a U.S.-led coalition base.

The United Nations meanwhile said more than 130,000 Syrians have fled since the operation began five days ago. The fighting reached the main highway that runs between Hassakeh, a major town and logistical hub, and Ain Eissa, the administrative centre of the Kurdish-held areas.

The camp in Ain Eissa, some 35 kilometres (20 miles) south of the border, is home to some 12,000 people, including 1,000 wives and widows of Islamic State fighters and their children. The Kurdish-led administration in northern Syria said in a statement that 950 IS supporters escaped after attacking guards and storming the gates. It was not immediately possible to confirm that figure.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Turkish warplanes struck villages near the camp on Sunday. It said camp residents fled as clashes broke out between Turkey-backed Syrian fighters and Kurdish forces, without providing an exact number.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces were a key U.S. ally in the war against the Islamic State group and drove the extremists from most of the territory they once held in northeastern Syria. The force swept up thousands of Islamic State fighters and their family members in the campaign, and has warned it may not be able to maintain its various detention centres as it struggles to repel the Turkish advance.

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Turkey views the Kurdish fighters as terrorists because of their links to the insurgency in its southeast and has vowed to carve out a “safe zone” along the border. It launched the operation earlier this week after President Donald Trump moved U.S. forces aside, saying he was committed to getting out of America’s “endless” wars.

Heavy fighting was also underway Sunday in the town of Suluk, northeast of Ain Eissa. Turkey’s official news agency said Syrian fighters allied with Ankara had captured the town, while Kurdish officials said they were still battling to hold onto it.

The Anadolu news agency said Turkey-backed forces had cleared the town centre of Suluk, which is located at a strategic crossroads about 10 kilometres (six miles) south of the border. A Kurdish official, who was not authorized to brief media and so spoke on condition of anonymity, said the clashes in Suluk were still ongoing.

Turkish troops and their Syrian allies have made steady gains since launching the operation, capturing several northern villages in fighting and bombardment that has killed and wounded dozens of people. The military said it captured the centre of the sizable town of Ras al-Ayn Saturday. Turkey continued shelling around the town and sporadic clashes could be heard.

Turkey’s Defence Ministry tweeted that 480 Kurdish fighters were “neutralized” since Wednesday. The number could not be independently verified.

The clashes have spilled across the border, with shells fired from Syria hitting the Turkish border towns of Akcakale and Suruc. Anadolu says one person was wounded in Suruc on Sunday.

Heavy outgoing shelling could be heard in Akcakale early Sunday and at least one incoming projectile hit a house, leaving a gaping hole in the exterior wall and rubble inside. It was not immediately clear if anyone was wounded. Police collected evidence as a crowd gathered outside.

The U.N. meanwhile said a pumping station in the town of Hassakeh was damaged by shelling, affecting the water supply for 400,000 people, including 82,000 residents of camps for displaced people.

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Associated Press writers Sarah El Deeb in Beirut and Zeynep Bilginsoy in Istanbul contributed.

Lefteris Pitarakis, The Associated Press