Ilhan Omar writes to US Syria envoy over Turkish white phosphorus allegations
Congresswoman calls on US Syria envoy to give full briefing on October incident in border town
Congresswoman calls on US Syria envoy to give full briefing on October incident in border town
Four US congressional Democrats have written to Donald Trump’s Syria envoy asking him to spell out what information the US has about the alleged use of white phosphorus by Turkey against Syrian Kurdish civilians in October.
Ilhan Omar and three of her colleagues in the House of Representatives called on Jim Jeffrey to provide a full briefing – in private if necessary – into whether it believes the incident during the Turkish invasion two months ago amounts to a war crime.
They wrote: “The United States is uniquely positioned as a Nato ally of Turkey and a partner of the Syrian Kurds, who are the alleged victims of this attack, to take a lead on a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding [it].”
Pictures emerged at the time of Syrian children who had been seriously burned, prompting accusations that they had been targeted by Turkish forces using white phosphorus in or around the border town of Ras al-Ayn.
