ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Russia on Sunday accused Turkey of sending its military across the Syrian border to prevent Kurdish groups there from consolidating their positions, while Turkish authorities imposed curfews on two mainly Kurdish towns where Turkey’s security forces are set to launch large-scale operations against Kurdish militants.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia has evidence of Turkey’s “creeping expansion” in northern Syria.
“According to our information, they are digging in a few hundred meters from the border inside Syria,” Lavrov said in an interview with Russian REN TV broadcast on Sunday.
In southeastern Turkey, authorities have imposed curfews in several flashpoints since August to root out militants linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, who had set up barricades, dug trenches and planted explosives. The military operations have raised concerns over human rights violations and scores of civilian deaths. Tens of thousands of people have also been displaced by the fighting.
The governor’s office for Hakkari province, which borders Iraq and Iran, said a new 24-hour curfew would take effect in the town Yuksekova at 2000 GMT (4 p.m. EDT) Sunday, adding that entering and leaving the town would also be banned. The announcement came as news reports said dozens of tanks had been deployed to the town.