The United States government has imposed sanctions on Turkish ministries and senior government officials in response to the country’s military offensive in northern Syria.

The move comes after criticism trailed the withdrawal of US troop from the region which some say gave Turkey the defacto green light to commence the attacks. 

The US Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin announced the measures in a statement issued alongside Vice-President Mike Pence in Washington DC on Monday evening.

Action was taken against Turkey’s defense, energy and interior ministries as well as their respective ministers. The government froze their assets in the US and banned any transactions with them which involves the US financial system. 

“The Turkish government’s actions are endangering innocent civilians and destabilizing the region, including undermining the campaign to defeat ISIS.

“The United States and our partners have liberated 100 percent of ISIS’s ruthless territorial caliphate. Turkey must not put these gains in jeopardy,” the statement added. 

Vice President Pence said President Donald Trump has also called his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan to demand an end to the onslaught and immediate truce.

Pence further warned that the sanctions will worsen unless and until Turkey embraces an immediate ceasefire and negotiates a long-term settlement of issues on the border.

The Turkish offensive which began last week aims to push the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from the border region. Turkey considers the biggest militia in the SDF a terrorist organization.

So far, dozens of civilians have been killed in the operation, with at least 160,000 fleeing the area. Some aid organizations have also reportedly started evacuating their international staff over security fears.

There are also fears that the destabilization in the region could see a resurgence of IS as thousands of former fighters and their relatives who were being detained in Syria could have taken advantage of the situation. Hundreds of IS family members are said to have already escaped from one camp.

President Donald Trump has now faced mounting pressure to take decisive action against the Turkish government, including from Republicans who are usually loyal to his administration.