People in northeastern Syria say despite Erdogan's reassurances, the Turkish military and its allied Syrian armed groups are persecuting religious minorities.

The Catholic aid agency Caritas Syria is working around the clock to aid those displaced by Turkish bombing and shelling.

Bashar Warda, C.Ss.R., the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Erbil in Iraqi-Kurdistan, urged all parties in the new conflict between Turkey and the Kurdish and allied militias of the Syrian Democratic Forces “to remember at all times their obligations to protect innocent civilians.”

Turkish warplanes have begun attacking northeastern Syria, causing widespread panic among Christian and other religious communities caught up in the aerial bombardments.

Pope Francis urged Syrian President Bashar Assad to put an end to his country's eight-year-long conflict and seek reconciliation for the good of the nation and its vulnerable people.

Military Council member Aram Hanna told Kurdistan 24 TV that he hopes a U.S.-led coalition would protect northeast Syria because Islamic State "sleeper cells still pose a threat."