Casualties in northern Syria have led a bipartisan group of U.S. senators and a large number of House Republicans to call for sanctions on Turkey, the Washington Examiner reports.
President Donald Trump withdrew U.S. forces from northern Syria earlier this week. Soon after, Turkey invaded Syria and killed at least 23 Kurdish fighters as part of a campaign against a Kurdish-led militia that had been assisting the U.S. in fighting ISIS, according to The New York Times.
Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., later introduced a bill to financially penalize Turkey's leading officials, including Erdogan, and its military for invading Syria.
"I am pleased to have reached a bipartisan agreement with Senator [Van Hollen] on severe sanctions against Turkey for their invasion of Syria," Graham said in a tweet Wednesday.
"While the Administration refuses to act against Turkey, I expect strong bipartisan support," he added.
Turkish "President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and his regime must face serious consequences for mercilessly attacking our Kurdish allies in northern Syria, who incurred thousands of casualties in the fight against ISIS and helped us protect the homeland," Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said in a statement announcing 30 Republican House members plan to introduce sanctions legislation.
"These sanctions are not only a response to the Erdogan regime's violent attacks in northern Syria. Congress has long had concerns about the regime's cooperation with U.S. adversaries, such as Russia," she continued. "If Turkey wants to be treated like an ally, it must begin behaving like one. They must be sanctioned for their attacks on our Kurdish allies."
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