Ankara Denies Carrying Out Attacks on Groups Included in Syria Ceasefire

The Turkish Armed Forces have not attacked targets in Syrian territory after the ceasefire came into effect, except for Daesh terrorists' targets excluded from the deal, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said Wednesday.

ANKARA (Sputnik) — Syrian Kurdish groups have claimed that Turkey has been violating the ceasefire by shelling Kurds in northern Syria. Both Russia and the United States have urged Ankara to stop the attacks.

"Turkey has not attacked targets in Syria after the announcement of the truce, except for conducting the shelling of Daesh positions, in which 41 shells were fired," Bilgic said at a press briefing in Ankara.

Last week, Russia and the United States reached an agreement on the ceasefire in Syria. The cessation of hostilities took effect at midnight on Saturday, Damascus time, generally holding across the country despite reported minor violations.

Earlier, Turkey intensified shelling of the Kurds in Syria, claiming that they have links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group fighting for Kurdish independence from Turkey and considered a terrorist organization by Ankara. The PKK itself has denied having links to the Syrian Kurds.