TURKEY has been warned against launching its threatened ground invasion against Kurdish forces in northern Syria as Ankara escalates aggression in the region.

EU foreign policy spokesperson Federica Mogherini said on Saturday the announcement by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that an assault on Kurdish areas in Syria would be launched within “a few days” was a “source of concern.”

She warned against unilateral military action which risks undermining the fight against Isis in Syria and the wider region.

US spokesman Sean Robertson called the threats “a matter of grave concern” and “unacceptable,” however it was not clear how Washington, which has more than 2,000 troops deployed in the area would respond.

Ankara threatened a ground invasion targeting Manbij on the western side of the Euphrates river and Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ayin on the east.

It claims the offensive, which would be conducted alongside 15,000 soldiers from the jihadist-backed Free Syrian Army, is aimed against the largely Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) which it deems a terrorist organisation.

It would see Turkey take control of large parts of the Syrian border area and is seen by many as part of Mr Erdogan’s genocidal war against Kurds as Ankara pursues an expansionist policy.

Turkish forces are currently occupying the canton of Afrin in northern Syria after launching Operation Olive Branch in January on the pretext of protecting its borders.

Turkish aggression is not confined to northern Syria, with an air offensive targeting a refugee camp in the Kurdish areas of Iraq and an assault on the Yezidi city of Sengal on the eve of a sacred holiday.

The Makhmur refugee camp has been under UN supervision since 1998 and is home to thousands who fled Turkey’s Hakkari, Sirnak and Van provinces as military forces burned down more than 3,000 villages in an attempt at forced assimilation.

Anger is directed toward the UN and US imperialist forces who have controlled the Iraqi airspace since the illegal invasion and occupation of 2003.

One of those fleeing the camp said: “If you did not approve the attack, why don’t you react to it? Your non-reaction makes us suspect that you have approved the attack. 

“We as the people of several villages have sought refuge here, fleeing the tyranny, oppression and torture of the Turkish state. The Turkish state burned our homes and villages down, they confiscated our property.

“You didn’t speak up, and now you won’t speak up even as they murder us?”