Syria will respond to a Turkish aggression on any part of its territory with "all legitimate means" available, the head of the regime, Bashar al-Assad, said on Thursday, according to regime media.
We "will respond to it and confront it, in all its forms, anywhere in Syria, using all legitimate means at our disposal," Assad said during a meeting with Advisor of Iraq’s National Security Council Faleh al-Fayyad.
His remarks came after an agreement between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to fend off an assault launched by Turkey on northeastern Syria last week.
Turkey's operation has allowed Assad to send his forces to an area that had been beyond his control for years in the more than eight-year-old Syrian war.
Ankara had previously said it has taken control of Ras al-Ain and Tel Abyad, two key towns along the frontier.
The region's Kurdish-led authority called on Thursday for a corridor "to evacuate dead and wounded civilians" from Ras al-Ain. It said people were trapped in the town, urging foreign powers including the US-led coalition and Russia, to intervene to get them out.
Syrian troops accompanied by Russian forces have meanwhile entered Kobani, a strategic border city and potential flashpoint for a wider conflict, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
