(CNN) Turkey warned the United States before carrying out airstrikes against U.S.-backed Kurdish militia in Syria's Afrin province, Defense Secretary James Mattis said Sunday, according to a report by Reuters.

"Turkey was candid," the defense secretary said on a flight to Asia, the Reuters report said. "They warned us before they launched the aircraft they were going to do it, in consultation with us. And we are working now on the way ahead. We'll work this out."

Turkey's military told Washington of the air operation in a phone call to high level US military officials, Reuters reported. No US forces were at risk from the Turkish military operations, said Mattis, who did not disclose the US reaction to Turkey's warning, Reuters said.

On Sunday, Turkey launched a ground operation across the border into northern Syria, in a move likely to raise tensions with the United States.

Turkish officials said the troops entered the Afrin area a day after Turkish jets pounded targets there in an attempt to drive US-allied Kurdish militia from the area. "Operation Olive Branch is ongoing as planned and the ground operation has started," the Turkish armed forces said in a statement.

The military incursion is likely to raise tensions between Turkey and the United States, which supports and openly arms Kurdish militias fighting ISIS.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the operation would be completed "in a very short time," during a public address Sunday in the city of Bursa, according to the Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu.

The land operation comes as YPG missiles fired from Syria hit the Turkish border town of Reyhanli on Sunday, according to Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag. One Syrian national was killed and 32 wounded in the attack, the town's mayor said on Turkish broadcaster NTV.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad denounced what he called "Turkish brutal aggression on the Syrian city of Afrin," according to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency.

Earlier in the day, rockets fired from Syria also hit the Turkish border city of Kilis, according to Anadolu. One person was injured and buildings damaged in the attack, said local governor, Mehmet Tekinarslan.

It was not immediately clear who fired the rockets, though they followed Turkish airstrikes on areas under the control of the People's Protection Units, also known as the YPG.

Turkey said it launched what it dubbed Operation Olive Branch on Saturday to target "terrorist organizations" including YPG forces.

The Turkish Air Force has destroyed 45 targets, including barracks, hideouts, weapon depots and gun positions in strikes on northern Syria's Afrin region, the armed forces said in a statement Sunday.

Turkey has long fought Kurdish unrest in the southeastern part of the country. It's determined to prevent the establishment of a Kurdish state across the border in Syria and has used military force in the past against Kurds and ISIS in the northern part of the neighboring country.

Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a tweet Saturday that the operation isn't targeting civilians and "innocent Syrians" -- just terrorists.

The YPG issued a statement on a pro-PKK news outlet, ANF, calling the Turkish attack "barbaric."

"We have no choice but to resist," the YPG statement said. "We call upon all of our young people to meet in the ranks of resistance, taking the resistance spirit of our sacrificial martyrs as an example."

France on Sunday requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss ongoing developments in the Syrian areas of Afrin, Idlib and Ghouta, the country's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a tweet on Sunday.

Meanwhile German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said the "military confrontation" between Turkish and US-backed Kurdish forces in northern Syria "entails unpredictable risks," in a tweet on Sunday. "Everyone's efforts need to aim at making progress in the political process," he said.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Sunday also called for Turkey's operation in Afrin to be "completed immediately" and for the prevention of a crisis in the border region of Turkey and Syria, according to state-run news agency IRNA.

Washington had previously called on Ankara to refrain from launching a military incursion in Syria. "The focus needs to be on ISIS," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said last week.

Turkish forces have said they are targeting ISIS as well as Kurdish militia in Afrin.

"The operation is being carried out within the right of self-defense and with respect to Syrian territorial integrity," the Turkish armed forces said in a statement.

The SDF is made up of a number of local rebel groups but mainly from Kurdish militia of the YPG.

The announcement of a border force infuriated Turkey's leaders, and Erdogan has accused the United States, its most powerful NATO ally, of "building an army of terror" on his border and threatened to "drown" the US-backed force. Turkey regards the YPG as the Syrian arm of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, despite the group's help in battling ISIS.</s>The offensive started with 72 Turkish aircraft carrying out airstrikes in the district, while on Sunday, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim confirmed the beginning of the ground operation.

Afrin, located close to the border with Turkey, is controlled by the Syrian Kurds' militia, People's Protection Units (YPF), which Ankara considers a branch of Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated as a terrorist organization in several countries.

The international reactions have varied from cautiousness to outright indignation. Damascus, in part, has slammed Ankara's actions as a violation of Syria's sovereignty.

"This is sheer act of aggression, in breach of international law, an infringement on Syrian national territory, and a violation of all UN resolutions calling on respecting the sovereignty of Syria," Syria’s ambassador to China and former ambassador to the United States, Imad Moustapha, told Sputnik on Monday.

The ambassador stressed that Damascus would "take every possible action to liberate" any Syrian territory held by the Turkish troops.

The offensive will affect the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Russia's Sochi, although Moscow and Tehran, which along with Ankara are the key forces behind the upcoming intra-Syrian talks, are trying to find a diplomatic solution to the issue at hand, the Syrian ambassador said.

"To give Russia credit, it has tried hard to convince the Kurds in Afrin to reintegrate the town with the Syrian state, but their hubris would cloud their judgment, and now they are paying the price for their obstinacy," Moustapha noted.

France has called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Syria, following the beginning of the Turkish campaign. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Sunday that not only Afrin, but several other regions, required urgent attention.

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert on Sunday called on Turkey to show restraint during the operation in northern Syria. Washington stated, however, that it recognized Turkey's right to carry out legal activities in order to ensure its security.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may use Afrin as a bargain chip in negotiations with other regional actors, Russia, Iran, the United States, Tarek Ahmad, a foreign policy spokesman of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, told Sputnik.

READ MORE: Academic: US Provoked Turkish Military Op in Syria by Arming the Kurds

However, the Kurds, for their part, should join the negotiation process in Sochi, rather than rely on the backing of the United States, the politician suggested.

"The Kurds should enter Sochi process and open dialogue with the Syrian government instead of being blindly used as a tool by Americans, which still have not given up plans to divide Syria," Ahmad said.

Thierry Mariani, a French politician and member of The Republicans party, also pointed out the danger, for Ankara, of even a possibility of a Kurdish state in neighboring Syria.

"Turkey cannot tolerate even an embryo of the Kurdish state as it is crucial for its territorial integrity," the French politician said.

Turkey has a sizable Kurdish minority of its own and for years has been involved in an armed conflict with the PKK. Ankara, wary of Kurdish nationalism, has denounced the support given to the Kurdish forces in Syria by the United States. Besides, the territories controlled by the mainly Kurdish forces, in Northern Syria, close to the border with Turkey, are de facto largely autonomous.

Losses After First Three Days

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which incorporate several militias, including Kurdish ones, said that three SDF fighters died in the first three days of the Turkish campaign. Eighteen civilians were killed and 23 were injured, the SDF said, according to the ANF news outlet.

The Syrian militias claimed that 40 Turkish troops and affiliated forces were killed, and two Turkish tanks were destroyed in the offensive.

Osman said that neither Turkey, nor its ally, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), were able to take control of any territories. The Turkish offensive prompted a push-back as a rocket launched from Afrin hit the FSA camp n the Turkish province of Hatay, killing at least two and injuring 12 others.

However, Erdogan vowed on Monday that Ankara would not retreat before settling the issue. According to media reports, the Turkish forces have launched a new offensive in the city of Azaz east of Afrin.</s>French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian arrives at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 5, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

PARIS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council will hold talks about the situation in Syria on Monday, French Foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on his Twitter feed on Sunday.

He added that France would press for humanitarian access.

Le Drian said earlier on Sunday that France had called for an emergency meeting of the Security Council over Syria following a Turkish incursion into northern Syria’s Afrin province.

He also condemned indiscriminate bombing by the Syrian regime in Idlib province and asked for immediate access for humanitarian aid to eastern Ghouta, where 400,000 citizens face a critical situation.</s>Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is paying close attention to the Turkish military operation in Afrin, adding that Moscow maintains communications with both Ankara and Damascus on the matter.

"We still believe that the principle of preserving Syria’s territorial integrity is fundamental. Of course, we are closely monitoring the humanitarian aspects that are connected with what is happening now in the Afrin district," Peskov told media.

"Turkey was candid. They warned us before they launched the aircraft they were going to do it, in consultation with us. And we are working now on the way ahead. We’ll work this out," he said.

Earlier, however, a senior official from the US Department of State stated this Turkish offensive does not serve the interests of Ankara or the region as a whole.

"We do not believe that a military operation… in the north and northeast Syria serves the cause of regional stability, Syrian stability, or indeed Turkish concerns about the security of their border," the official said.

A spokesman for UK Prime Minister Theresa May also said that London recognizes Turkey’s “legitimate interest in the security of its borders,” adding that Britain now seeks the cessation of violence in Syria the wake of Turkey's operation.

"The UK is committed to working closely with Turkey and other allies to find solutions that provide stability, refrain from escalating the situation and protect Turkey's security interests," the spokesman explained.

READ MORE: US-Backed SDF Considering Sending Reinforcements to Afrin Amid Turkish Op

Iran and Egypt: The 'Disruption' of Peace Process Needs to End



The Iranian Foreign Ministry also urged Turkey to respect Syria’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty, and to remain committed to the political resolution of the Syrian crisis.

"Iran hopes that this operation will be ended immediately to prevent a deepening of the crisis in the border regions of Turkey and Syria. A continued crisis in Afrin may boost…terrorist groups in northern Syria," Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry has described the Turkish military operation as a “disruption” in the political settlement of the Syrian crisis, adding that Cairo strongly opposes a military solution to the Syrian crisis.

"The Arab Republic of Egypt expresses its rejection of the military operation carried out by the Turkish troops against the town of Afrin in northwestern Syria, and considers the operation as yet another violation of Syria's sovereignty and the disruption of efforts within the framework of the existing political decisions and efforts to struggle against terrorism in Syria," a statement issued by the foreign ministry said.

READ MORE: US Unilateral Actions in Syria Provoked Turkey to Fury — Moscow

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has declared that Paris demands an urgent UN Security Council meeting on the matter, and that all parties involved in the ongoing hostilities should cease fire and allow humanitarian access to the area.

Following the talks between Le Drian and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, the French government urged Turkey to exercise restraint.

"France is attentive to the security of Turkey, its territory and borders. Paris calls on the Turkish authorities to exercise restraint in the complicated context of a humanitarian situation in several Syrian regions, in view of the military activities of Damascus and its allies," the statement issued following the meeting read.

On Saturday, January 20 Turkish forces began a military operation against the Kurdish forces in Syria's northwestern Afrin district. The operation, codenamed Olive Branch, started at 14:00 GMT with 72 Turkish warplanes conducting airstrikes in the area.

On Sunday, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim confirmed the start of the ground operation in the region, adding that a 30-kilometer safe zone would be created during the operation of the Turkish military.

According to Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli, by conducting this offensive Ankara is exercising its "right to self-defense in line with international law", and its goal is to destroy all "terrorist corridors" used by Kurdish militias affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party which is branded as a terrorist organization by Turkey.</s>HASSA, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkey shelled targets in northwest Syria on Monday and said it would swiftly crush U.S.-backed Kurdish YPG fighters in an air and ground offensive on the Afrin region beyond its border.

The three-day-old campaign has opened a new front in Syria’s multi-sided civil war, realigning a battlefield where outside powers are supporting local combatants.

While Washington and other Western capitals expressed concern, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he had secured a go-ahead for the campaign from Russia, principal backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, long Turkey’s foe.

Turkey sees the YPG presence on its southern border as a domestic security threat.

Turkish forces and their Syrian anti-Assad rebel allies began their push on Saturday to clear the northwestern border enclave of Kurdish YPG fighters. Ankara considers the YPG to be allies of insurgents that have fought against the Turkish state for decades. The United States, meanwhile, has armed and aided the YPG as its main ground allies against Islamic State.

Senior U.N. officials briefed the United Nations Security Council behind closed doors on Monday, at the request of France, on the humanitarian and political situation in Syria.

“With respect to the situation in Afrin, it was of course part of the conversation,” said French U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre after the meeting, adding that it was mentioned by most of the 15 council members. “France calls on Turkey for restraint in the volatile environment that we all know in Syria.”

But Erdogan said Turkey was determined to press ahead. “There’s no stepping back from Afrin,” he said in a speech in Ankara. “We discussed this with our Russian friends, we have an agreement with them, and we also discussed it with other coalition forces and the United States.”

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Washington had proposed working with Turkey and forces on the ground in Afrin to “see how we can stabilise this situation and meet Turkey’s legitimate concerns for their security.”

But Turkey said Washington must end its support for the Kurdish YPG militia before any proposal for cooperation: “If they want a cooperation, we are ready for this cooperation. As the first step to take, they can stop arming terror groups and take back weapons already given,” Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

Syria has objected to the Turkish incursion, and Moscow, which controls parts of Syrian air space on behalf of its allies in Damascus, has not confirmed giving a green light to it. But Russia does not appear to be acting to prevent it, and has pulled its own troops out of the Afrin area.

Iran, Assad’s other main military supporter, called for a halt to the operation. Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said the Afrin campaign could lead to “the return of regional terrorism and extremism”, according to state television.

The YPG’s Afrin spokesman, Birusk Hasaka, said there were clashes between Kurdish and Turkish-backed forces on the third day of the operation, and that Turkish shelling had hit civilian areas in Afrin’s northeast.

Afrin would be a “quagmire from which the Turkish army will only exit after suffering great losses”, said a statement from the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces umbrella group.

The YPG said Afrin had already been reinforced in anticipation of the Turkish offensive, and there were discussions over whether to send more reinforcements from other YPG-held territory, which is separated from Afrin by areas held by Syrian government forces.

The United Nations has said it is deeply concerned for the more than 300,000 people in Afrin. Spokeswoman Linda Tom said there were reports of people displaced within Afrin by the fighting, and of smaller numbers heading to nearby Aleppo.

Ankara has been infuriated by U.S. support for the YPG, one of several issues that have brought relations between the United States and its Muslim NATO ally close to breaking point.

Erdogan has also pledged to drive the SDF from the town of Manbij to the east, part of a much larger area of northern Syria controlled by the YPG-led SDF. That raises the prospect of protracted conflict between Turkey and its allied Free Syrian Army factions against the U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek played down the long-term risks: “Our investors should be at ease, the impact will be limited, the operation will be brief and it will reduce the terror risk to Turkey in the period ahead,” he said.

A senior Turkish official declined to give a timeframe but said the operation would “move fast”, adding that Turkey believed there was some local support for its action in both Afrin and Manbij.

YPG official Nouri Mahmoud said Turkish-backed forces had not taken any territory in Afrin. “Our forces have to this point repelled them and forced them to retreat,” he told Reuters.

A Turkish official said Turkish troops and allied Free Syrian Army fighters had begun to advance on Afrin’s eastern flank, taking control of a hill northwest of the town of Azaz. An FSA commander later told Reuters YPG forces had recaptured the summit of Barshah hill.

A Reuters cameraman near Hassa, across the border from Afrin, saw Turkish shelling on Monday morning. Dogan news agency said Turkish howitzers opened fire at 1 a.m. (2200 GMT), and that YPG targets were also being hit by Turkish warplanes and multiple rocket launchers.

Defeating the YPG in Afrin would reduce Kurdish-controlled territory on Turkey’s frontier and link up two regions controlled by insurgents opposed to Assad - Idlib province and an area where Turkey fought for seven months in 2016-17 to drive back Islamic State and the YPG.

The Turkish-backed FSA factions, which have come together under the banner of a newly branded “National Army”, also want to see an end to YPG rule in Afrin. They accuse the YPG of displacing 150,000 Arab residents of towns including Tel Rifaat and Menigh to the east of Afrin, captured in 2016.

“This is a historic moment in our revolution,” Mohammad al-Hamadeen, a senior officer in the FSA forces, told fighters in Azaz on Sunday as they prepared to join the ground offensive.

“God willing, very soon we will return to our region that we were driven from two years ago.”</s>AZAZ, Syria: Turkey's army and rebel allies battled US-backed Kurdish militia in Syria's Afrin province on Sunday (Jan 21), stepping up a two-day-old campaign against YPG fighters that has opened a new front in Syria's civil war.

Amid US calls for restraint, Turkish artillery pounded YPG positions, while rockets fired from inside Syria slammed into two Turkish border towns, wounding dozens, according to the local governor's office and a witness.

Turkey began its push to clear YPG fighters from a northwestern enclave of Syria on Saturday when it launched artillery and air strikes against their positions in Afrin in what it called "Operation Olive Branch".

Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist organisation and has been infuriated by US support for the fighters. Washington, which is backing the YPG in the battle against Islamic State in Syria, on Sunday said it was concerned about the situation.



"Our jets took off and started bombing. And now the ground operation is underway. Now we see how the YPG ... are fleeing in Afrin," President Tayyip Erdogan said. "We will chase them. God willing, we will complete this operation very quickly."

Intense Turkish artillery fire and air strikes continued to hit some villages, the YPG said, while fierce battles raged to the north and west of Afrin against Turkish forces and their rebel allies, said Birusk Hasaka, a YPG spokesman in Afrin.

Turkey, which is backing the Free Syrian Army rebel factions in northern Syria, wants to create a 30km "safe zone" in the region, broadcaster HaberTurk quoted the prime minister, Binali Yildirim, as saying.

But it is targeting the US-supported YPG at a time Turkey's ties with NATO ally Washington are deeply strained.

"We urge Turkey to exercise restraint and ensure that its military operations remain limited in scope and duration and scrupulous to avoid civilian casualties," US State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

Turkey did advise the United States before taking action, the US Defense Secretary, Jim Mattis, said on Sunday, adding "We'll work this out".

The attacks follow weeks of warnings against the YPG in Syria from Erdogan and his ministers. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Kommersant newspaper that Turkey had been infuriated by "unilateral" US actions in Syria.

Turkey has been particularly outraged by an announcement that the US planned to train 30,000 personnel in parts of northeast Syria under the control of the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Rockets fired across the border from Syria hit the Turkish town of Reyhanli, killing a Syrian national and wounding 46 people, the local governor's office said. Another five were wounded when rockets hit the border town of Kilis, a Reuters witness said.

Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army rebel factions had captured a Kurdish village with no resistance and were clearing landmines, a Turkish official said.

The YPG said it had repelled the Turkish forces.

"All the Turkish military's ground attacks against Afrin have been repelled so far and they have been forced to retreat," Nouri Mahmoudi, a YPG official, said. Since the morning, the combatants have exchanged shelling and clashed along several frontlines around Afrin, he said.

Thousands rallied against the attacks in the border town of Amuda in northwest Syria. In Turkey, police used pepper spray against pro-Kurdish protesters in Istanbul and Ankara.

Turkey said it had hit targets including hideouts used by Kurdish militants. The YPG said Turkey's strikes killed some civilians and accused Turkey of striking civilian districts and a camp for displaced people in Afrin.

Erdogan said some of Turkey's allies had provided the YPG with 2,000 plane shipments and 5,000 truckloads of ammunition, comments that appeared to be aimed at the United States.

France called for restraint and an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council which will hold talks about the situation in Syria on Monday, foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.

Russia, which backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war, will demand in the United Nations that Turkey halt it's operation in Afrin, RIA news quoted a member of the Russian parliament's security committee as saying on Saturday.

Around 25,000 Free Syrian Army rebels are taking part in the operation with the goal of recapturing Arab towns and villages seized by the YPG almost two years ago, a rebel commander said.

Major Yasser Abdul Rahim said the rebels did not seek to enter the mainly Kurdish city of Afrin but encircle it and expel the YPG, which controls it.

A main goal of the military operation was to recapture Tel Rifaat, a town southeast of Afrin, and a string of Arab villages the YPG captured from rebels in February 2016, driving out tens of thousands of inhabitants, Abdul Rahim told Reuters.

A Reuters reporter on the outskirts of the northern Syrian town of Azaz, under the control of Free Syrian Army factions, heard several blasts and saw smoke rising from a hill to the west, where a fighter said the YPG were.

There were no signs of conflict in the town itself, where life appeared to continue as normal with uniformed rebel police at the main roundabouts. At a car repair workshop on the outskirts of the town some men were fixing a gun-loaded vehicle.</s>UN Security Council will today discuss the worsening humanitarian crisis in Syria after Turkey launched an offensive against Kurdish militias, diplomats said. The council was already scheduled to meet to hear a report from UN aid chief Mark Lowcock on his recent visit to Syria. At France’s request, the closed-door consultations will also touch on the Syrian campaign in Idlib and Eastern Ghouta, as well as the latest Turkish offensive, diplomats said yesterday. Turkey on Saturday launched operation “Olive Branch” to oust the Kurdish fighters of the Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) from the Afrin region of northern Syria.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said France was deeply worried by the “brutal degradation of the situation” in flashpoints like Afrin. Russia, which supports the Syrian government, also voiced concern. The defense ministry said it was withdrawing its troops from Afrin to prevent any “provocation.”

The United States has backed Kurdish militias in the fight against the Islamic State group (IS), and on Sunday the State Department urged Turkey to “exercise restraint” and keep its military campaign “limited in scope and duration” while avoiding civilian casualties. But separately, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said that Turkey, a NATO ally, had “legitimate” concerns in Syria, and that US officials had received advance notice of the Turkish incursion. The talks at the council are expected to begin around 11:30 am (local time), diplomats said.</s>HASSA, Turkey (AP) — The Latest on the Syrian conflict (all times local):

Media reports say police in Turkey have broken up demonstrations in Ankara and Istanbul hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Kurds in Turkey not to take to the streets to protest Turkey's military operation against a Kurdish-run enclave in Syria.

The Dogan news agency said police detained 12 demonstrators in Istanbul who were protesting the offensive. It said police used tear gas to disperse a separate protest in the capital Ankara. It did not provide further details on the Ankara protests.

Erdogan earlier warned that those who heed calls by Kurdish politicians to protest would "pay a high price."

Syria's President Bashar Assad says Turkey's "brutal aggression" against a Syrian Kurdish enclave is part and parcel of Ankara's support of "terrorists."

Assad's comments came during his meeting Sunday with the visiting head of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, Kamal Kharrazi. Assad said Turkey has always supported "terrorists" in Syria and its attack on Afrin can't be separated from this policy.

Syria had warned it would shoot down any Turkish fighter jets that Afrin, calling it an "aggressive act." Turkey started bombing Afrin Saturday. There was no response from the Syrian government.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has criticized France over its decision to call for a U.N. security council meeting over the situation in Syria, following Turkey's offensive into a Syrian Kurdish-run enclave.

Cavusoglu told reporters in Baghdad on Sunday that Turkey expected France to stand by an ally country and not with a "terror organization."

Cavusoglu said if France does "not act like ally... then it would be treated as a country that sides with terrorists." Turkey considers Syrian Kurdish militia group that controls the enclave of Afrin to be terrorists because of their affiliation with Kurdish rebels fighting inside Turkey.

The minister's comments were televised live on Turkish television.

Earlier, France in a statement urged Turkish authorities "to act with restraint in a context where the humanitarian situation is deteriorating in several regions of Syria."

An official says a second border town has come under rocket attack from across the Syrian border. At least one person was killed and dozens of others were wounded.

Huseyin Sanverdi, the mayor for the town of Reyhanli, told NTV television that three rockets hit his town some 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) from the Syrian Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin where Turkey's military is conducting an offensive.

Anadolu Agency said the attack caused extensive destruction in the town, damaging buildings and cars.

Earlier, the rockets fired from Syria targeted the border town of Kilis, but there were no casualties. Turkish artillery units retaliated to the attack.

Iran's official IRNA news agency is reporting that the country's Foreign Ministry has condemned the Turkish assault on the Syrian city of Afrin and expressed its concerns over this operation.

The Sunday report by IRNA quotes the ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi as saying Iran is concerned about ongoing developments in the city of Afrin and following them closely.

Ghasemi called on Turkey to end this offensive operation immediately. "The continuing crisis in Afarin may boost terrorist groups again in the northern parts of Syria."

Ghasemi the international community, especially Syria's neighboring countries, to continue their efforts to reach a peaceful and political settlement.

Turkey's state-run news agency, Anadolu, said Turkey's chief of staff, Gen. Hulusi Akar, discussed the operation with his Iranian counterpart in a telephone conversation on Sunday.

Egypt has condemned Turkey's military offensive in a Syrian Turkish enclave, describing it as a breach of Syria's sovereignty.

In a Sunday statement, Egypt's Foreign Ministry warned that the ongoing operation by Turkish troops and Syrian opposition in the Kurdish enclave of Afrin threatens political negotiations. The Turkish operation is aimed at driving a U.S.-allied Kurdish militia from the region.

The ministry described the assault as "a new violation of Syria's sovereignty."

Egypt has maintained security coordination with Syria during the latter's civil war. Egypt is also at odds with Turkey accusing it of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, outlawed in Egypt, to which deposed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi belongs.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Kurds in Turkey not to take to the streets and protest the Turkish military's operations against a Kurdish-run enclave in Syria.

Erdogan said Sunday those who heed calls by a Kurdish party for protests will "pay a high price."

He said: "This is a national struggle. We will crush anyone who opposes our national struggle."

Erdogan was addressing a congress of the women's branch of his ruling party in the northwestern city of Bursa, a day after Turkey launched an air and ground offensive in the northwestern Syrian enclave of Afrin to clear it of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters.

Erdogan said Afrin was a predominantly Arab area and that Turkey was determined to return it to its rightful owners.

The Turkish leader also wowed to defeat the Syrian Kurdish group, warning them not to rely on weapons supplied by the United States.

The French foreign ministry said France is calling for a U.N. security council emergency meeting over the deteriorating situation in Syria.

France's call comes Sunday after Turkish troops and Syrian opposition forces attacked a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria in their bid to drive a U.S.-allied Kurdish militia from the area.

The ministry said in a written statement that French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian spoke to his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, by phone Sunday.

France urged Turkish authorities "to act with restraint in a context where the humanitarian situation is deteriorating in several regions of Syria," the statement said.

France also condemned the "indiscriminate bombings" targeting inhabited areas and medical centers led by the Syrian regime in the northwestern province of Idlib in recent weeks.

Syria's military says its capture of a key air base in the country's northwest is an "achievement" that secures roads between the northern provinces.

Army spokesman Gen. Ali Mayhoub said in a televised statement on Sunday that the capture of the Abu Zuhour air base in Idlib province was "a blow" to the insurgents who had controlled the base since 2015. Mayhoub called it the second largest military base in northern Syria and said it was being cleared of booby traps and land mines. He said its capture secures the roads between the Hama, Idlib and Aleppo provinces.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian government forces and allied militias were also working to secure the air base. Mayhoub said the government offensive has also captured 300 villages in rural Idlib, Hama and Aleppo.

The offensive on Idlib — the largest rebel stronghold remaining in Syria — started last month and has displaced more than 212,000 civilians.

It's a separate offensive from the Turkish-led military operation in a Kurdish-run enclave in neighboring Aleppo province.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he hopes Turkey will conclude its operation in a Syrian Kurdish enclave in a short period of time.

Addressing crowds in the northwestern Turkish city of Bursa on Sunday, Erdogan said Turkey was determined to clear the enclave of Afrin of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia that Turkey considers to be terrorists, saying: "there is no stepping back."

"We are not alone... Allah is with us," Erdogan said: "Got willing, this operation will come to an end in a short time."

Meanwhile, Turkey's state-run news agency said Turkish prosecutors had launched investigations into several social media users suspected of engaging in Kurdish rebel "propaganda" through postings criticizing the Turkish operation in Afrin.

A Kurdish militia and a Syrian war monitoring group have denied reports that Turkish troops have entered a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the Kurdish militia and Turkish forces have clashed on the northern and western edges of Afrin, but that Turkish troops have failed to advance.

Mustafa Bali, spokesman for the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which is dominated by the Kurdish militia, said attempts to infiltrate Afrin have been repelled since Saturday. He said Turkish aircraft have continued to strike Afrin.

The Turkish military says its offensive, named operation Olive Branch, aims to rid the region of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG.

Bali said the SDF, which is the main U.S. ally in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria, has reinforced YPG ranks in order to defend Afrin.

Syrian opposition fighters are battling alongside the Turkish troops in the latest front to open in the war in Syria.

Turkey's state-run news agency says Turkish ground troops have entered a Kurdish-held enclave in northern Syria and are advancing with Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces.

Anadolu Agency said the troops pushed into Afrin on Sunday, a day after Turkish jets pounded Syrian Kurdish targets in the region.

The Turkish military says its offensive, named operation Olive Branch, aims to rid the region of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG.

Turkey considers the YPG a terror organization because of its affiliation to Kurdish rebels fighting in southeastern Turkey, and had been threatening to attack Afrin for weeks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to expand the operation to other Kurdish regions.

The YPG is a key U.S. ally in the war against the Islamic State group.

A Turkish official says suspected Syrian Kurdish fighters have fired rockets from across the border, slightly wounding one person.

Gov. Mehmet Tekinarslan says four rockets struck the town of Kilis early Sunday, hitting two houses and an office. He says Turkish artillery returned fire. The attack came as dozens of Turkish jets pounded the Kurdish-run enclave of Afrin in northern Syria.

Afrin is controlled by a Syrian Kurdish militia that Turkey views as part of the Kurdish insurgency in its southeast. The militia forms the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main U.S. ally against the Islamic State group in Syria.

The state-run Anadolu Agency says Turkey-backed Syrian forces have penetrated the enclave and are advancing.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>United Nations Security Council will convene Monday upon France's call for an emergency meeting over Syria following the launch of Turkey's anti-terror operation in northern Syria's Afrin province.

"Ghouta, Idlib, Afrin — France asks for an urgent meeting of the Security Council," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on his Twitter feed. He added that he had spoken with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Sunday morning.

The foreign ministry said Monday that the U.N. meeting on Syria initiated by France under the framework of "Any other business (AOB)" will address latest developments in the country, according to a message sent by French officials to representatives of U.N. member states.

"I would like to inform you that we will also use tomorrow's AOB on Syria to focus on the humanitarian situation in the country and to address more generally the latest developments of the situation in the field," the message said.

Turkish ground forces pushed into northern Syria's Afrin province as part of Operation Olive Branch on Sunday after Turkey launched artillery and air strikes on terrorist PKK's Syrian affiliates the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed-wing People's Protection Units (YPG), it aims to sweep from its border.

On Saturday, envoys and mission chiefs of permanent members of U.N. Security Council — United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, China —were invited to the Turkish foreign ministry for a briefing on Operation Olive Branch.</s>HASSA, Turkey (AP) — The Latest on the Syrian conflict (all times local):

The French foreign ministry said France is calling for a U.N. security council emergency meeting over the deteriorating situation in Syria.

France's call comes Sunday after Turkish troops and Syrian opposition forces attacked a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria in their bid to drive a U.S.-allied Kurdish militia from the area.

The ministry said in a written statement that French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian spoke to his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, by phone Sunday.

France urged Turkish authorities "to act with restraint in a context where the humanitarian situation is deteriorating in several regions of Syria," the statement said.

France also condemned the "indiscriminate bombings" targeting inhabited areas and medical centers led by the Syrian regime in the northwestern province of Idlib in recent weeks.

Syria's military says its capture of a key air base in the country's northwest is an "achievement" that secures roads between the northern provinces.

Army spokesman Gen. Ali Mayhoub said in a televised statement on Sunday that the capture of the Abu Zuhour air base in Idlib province was "a blow" to the insurgents who had controlled the base since 2015. Mayhoub called it the second largest military base in northern Syria and said it was being cleared of booby traps and land mines. He said its capture secures the roads between the Hama, Idlib and Aleppo provinces.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian government forces and allied militias were also working to secure the air base. Mayhoub said the government offensive has also captured 300 villages in rural Idlib, Hama and Aleppo.

The offensive on Idlib — the largest rebel stronghold remaining in Syria — started last month and has displaced more than 212,000 civilians.

It's a separate offensive from the Turkish-led military operation in a Kurdish-run enclave in neighboring Aleppo province.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he hopes Turkey will conclude its operation in a Syrian Kurdish enclave in a short period of time.

Addressing crowds in the northwestern Turkish city of Bursa on Sunday, Erdogan said Turkey was determined to clear the enclave of Afrin of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia that Turkey considers to be terrorists, saying: "there is no stepping back."

"We are not alone... Allah is with us," Erdogan said: "Got willing, this operation will come to an end in a short time."

Meanwhile, Turkey's state-run news agency said Turkish prosecutors had launched investigations into several social media users suspected of engaging in Kurdish rebel "propaganda" through postings criticizing the Turkish operation in Afrin.

A Kurdish militia and a Syrian war monitoring group have denied reports that Turkish troops have entered a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the Kurdish militia and Turkish forces have clashed on the northern and western edges of Afrin, but that Turkish troops have failed to advance.

Mustafa Bali, spokesman for the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which is dominated by the Kurdish militia, said attempts to infiltrate Afrin have been repelled since Saturday. He said Turkish aircraft have continued to strike Afrin.

The Turkish military says its offensive, named operation Olive Branch, aims to rid the region of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG.

Bali said the SDF, which is the main U.S. ally in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria, has reinforced YPG ranks in order to defend Afrin.

Syrian opposition fighters are battling alongside the Turkish troops in the latest front to open in the war in Syria.

Turkey's state-run news agency says Turkish ground troops have entered a Kurdish-held enclave in northern Syria and are advancing with Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces.

Anadolu Agency said the troops pushed into Afrin on Sunday, a day after Turkish jets pounded Syrian Kurdish targets in the region.

The Turkish military says its offensive, named operation Olive Branch, aims to rid the region of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG.

Turkey considers the YPG a terror organization because of its affiliation to Kurdish rebels fighting in southeastern Turkey, and had been threatening to attack Afrin for weeks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to expand the operation to other Kurdish regions.

The YPG is a key U.S. ally in the war against the Islamic State group.

A Turkish official says suspected Syrian Kurdish fighters have fired rockets from across the border, slightly wounding one person.

Gov. Mehmet Tekinarslan says four rockets struck the town of Kilis early Sunday, hitting two houses and an office. He says Turkish artillery returned fire. The attack came as dozens of Turkish jets pounded the Kurdish-run enclave of Afrin in northern Syria.

Afrin is controlled by a Syrian Kurdish militia that Turkey views as part of the Kurdish insurgency in its southeast. The militia forms the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main U.S. ally against the Islamic State group in Syria.

The state-run Anadolu Agency says Turkey-backed Syrian forces have penetrated the enclave and are advancing.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian calls for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to address the Turkish incursion into Northern Syria's Afrin Region. The UNSC will convene on Monday.