Kurdish leader in Syria calls for diplomatic solutions to conflict with Turkey

Associated Press

QAMISHLI, Syria (AP) — The leader of the U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in northeast Syria has called for international mediators to continue pushing for diplomatic solutions to the complex web of conflicts in the Middle Eastern country, including the escalating Turkish bombardment of Kurdish areas. Turkey has intensified its airstrikes in northern Iraq and northeastern Syria following an Oct. 23 attack on a defense company in Ankara last week claimed by the Kurdistan’s Workers’ Party (PKK). Five people died and 20 were wounded. Mazloum Abdi, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces, told The AP in an interview that the attack served as an excuse for a long-planned Turkish operation in Syria.