<span style="color: #222222;">Pressure is building in the United States to stop Turkey from continuing its offensive against Kurdish-held areas in Syria. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">US Defence Secretary Mark Esper warned of serious consequences while Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held out the prospect of fresh sanctions against Turkey.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw US troops effectively triggered the Turkish incursion. He has said he would like the US to negotiate a truce between NATO ally Turkey and the Kurds. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, however, said the military operation will continue. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">According to the UN, more than one lakh people have fled their homes since the offensive began on Wednesday. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">President Erdogan says he wants to create a safe zone in northern Syria free of Kurdish militias which could also be home to Syrian refugees. Meanwhile, the Pentagon said its base near the northern Syrian town of Kobane – an area known by Turkey to have US forces present – had seen shell fire from Turkish positions. Turkey has denied deliberately targeting US forces.</span>