France calls on Turkey to stop bombing Kurdish zones in Syria

Kurdish members of the Self-Defense Forces stand near the Syrian-Turkish border in the Syrian city of al-Derbasiyah during a protest against the operations launched in Turkey by government security forces against the Kurds, on Feb 9, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS

PARIS (Reuters) - The French Foreign Ministry called on Turkey to halt bombardments of Kurdish zones in Syria, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday (Feb 14).

"France is worried about the deteriorating situation in the region of Aleppo and the north of Syria. We call for the cessation of all bombardments, those of the regime and its allies on the entire territory and those of Turkey in the Kurdish zones," the statement said.

It added that the priority should be the fight against Islamic State and application of agreements reached by the major powers in Munich on Friday.

The Turkish army shelled Kurdish militia in northern Syria for a second day on Sunday, while Russia made clear it would continue bombing Syrian rebel targets, raising doubts that a planned halt in hostilities would bring much relief .

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