Roundup: Turkey meets domestic opposition over military action in Syria

Troubled with recent developments in Syria's north near its border, Turkish government pushes hard for a military action with its allies and partners to stem refugee wave and protect rebel holdouts against Syrian regime.

Turkish military pounded Kurdish militia targets with artillery fire on Saturday to halt and possibly reverse gains by the Kurdish People's Protections Units (YPG), the armed faction of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD).

The shelling targeted YPG positions in and around Menagh Air Base, near the village of Manaq in the south of the town of Azaz.

Turkish action, signaled earlier by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu who leads the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government in Turkey, came before the expiration of the deadline for the deal by major powers for halting the fighting in Syria that will take effect next Friday.

Confirming on the shelling on late Saturday night, Turkish Prime Minister vowed his government would not allow a demographic change in areas close to its border by the YPG, described as terrorist group by Turkey.

Davutoglu accused the PYD of acting as "pawn" at the hands of major powers and Syrian regime to change the make-up of Aleppo by forcing "hundreds of thousands of refugees" toward Turkey.

"There is no single shred of doubt on this," he emphasized.

Ankara has been lobbying for some time with the NATO military allies for an intervention into Syria to establish a safe zone for refugees, a no-fly zone to deter aerial assaults, halt Russian bombardments and push back advancing Syrian government forces.

NATO has been cold to such demands by Turkey so far with the U.S. calling on Turkey to halt shelling of PYD targets in Syria.

U.S. State Department spokesperson John Kirby said in a statement that the U.S. is aware of shelling by Turkey and that the U.S. "urged Turkey to cease such fires."

However, the Turkish army resumed shelling positions held by YPG for a second day on Sunday, the local media reported.

Turkey, suffering from its own Kurdish insurgency in a conflict with the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) for three decades, is concerned about gains by Kurds in northern Syria.

Ankara says the PYD is an affiliate of the PKK that is listed as terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

TURKEY- SAUDI OFFENSIVE

Ankara also said it is willing to commit ground troops to combat Islamic State (IS) and is working together with Saudi Arabia to accomplish that.

"If there will be a comprehensive strategy within the scope of fight against IS, we all said that Turkey and Saudi Arabia could launch a ground operation," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in a published remarks in a Turkish daily Haberturk on Saturday.

He also added that Riyadh will send fighter jets to the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey's southern province of Adana where the U.S.-led coalition forces already deployed air force assets to combat the IS.

The advance inspection team by Saudi Arabia has already arrived to Incirlik Air Base.

However, the Turkish political opposition parties are up in arms against Turkey's possible intervention into Syria with ground troops, saying that such an action will put Turkish lives at risk.

Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the third largest political party in terms of popularity, said on Saturday that it would be a grave mistake for Turkey and Saudi Arabia to enter into a war with Syria.

Devle Bahçeli, the leader of the MHP, said "the result could be terrible" for Turkey, calling on the government to urgently brief the nature and scope of Turkey's reported agreement with Saudi Arabia.

Aytun Ciray, the lawmaker from the main opposition Republican Peoples' Party (CHP), said on Sunday that a Turkey-Saudi military intervention into Syria will throw the region into a further chaos.

Underscoring that the Saudi military is not capable enough to launch such a ground offensive in Syria, Ciray said, adding the whole burden will be on Turkish army.

"This would damage Turkey's ties with Arab world beyond repair for generations," he warned.

Turkey's former Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis, who had served as an ambassador in major Arab countries, said the Arab world would very much oppose a Turkish incursion into an Arab country.

He also cautioned that the Turkish military will have to face Russian forces if it intervenes in Syria.

He said that Russia has been waiting for a reason to unleash severe punishment on Turkey since the Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber in 2015. Endit