Turkish president says not to stop shelling Kurdish fighters in Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that his country has no plans to stop shelling Syria's Democratic Union Party (PYD), classified by Ankara as an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that is labelled as a terrorist organization.

"At the moment, I have difficulty in understanding America, which still hasn't called or still cannot call the PYD and the YPG as terrorists and which says to continue supporting the YPG," Erdogan said.

Washington recognizes the PKK as a terror group but not the PYD and its People's Protection Units (YPG) militia.

The rapid advance of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters, who are taking advantage of Russian airstrikes in the region to seize territory near the Turkish border, has infuriated Ankara. In response, Turkey has been shelling YPG positions for days.

"They tell Turkey this: Stop shelling the PYD and YPG. No offense, but we do not have such a thought. If someone fires a howitzer or bullet at Turkey, they will find a response many times over," he said.

Erdogan blamed the UN for remaining aloof from what he dubbed "a crime against humanity" by Russia in Syria.

"Russia has showed its [true colors] by standing next to the murderer and tyrant [Bashar] al-Assad who has caused the death of almost 500,000 people. At the moment, [Russia] is close to committing a very serious crime against humanity and a war crime with the bombs that it has been showering now. What is the United Nations saying? If it is confirmed, this is a war crime," Erdogan said.

Erdogan also warned the refugee crisis, which has seen more than 1.1 million cross into Europe last year, would exacerbate if the conflict in Syria was not brought to an end.

"No matter [if] the West acts in a rough, relentless way, they cannot control the refugee influx," he said, adding that "there has to be a consensus immediately on finding a resolution to the Syrian crisis." Endit