US forces have established five observation posts near the Turkish border in the Syria’s northeast in a bid to “combat ISIS” militants in the area, an unnamed People’s Protection Units (YPG) official told a Saudi press agency.
“The US Army started yesterday establishing three posts in Tal Abyad and two others in Ain al-Arab (Kobani) at the border with Turkey to protect the back of its Syrian ally forces against ISIS,” the Kurdish YPG official told the Saudi-based Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday.
He also told the news agency there is a memorandum of understanding between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – a joint Kurdish-Arab force dominated by the YPG – and the US-led Coalition against ISIS, including a one-year plan to fight ISIS and its cells in the region.
The memorandum, which the official says could be extended at the end of 2019, also includes the training of 30,000 SDF fighters.
The YPG’s official media Twitter account shared Asharq Al-Awsat’s story, indicating the comments are authentic.
Turkey has repeatedly expressed its concerns over US support for the YPG, which Ankara considers an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The PKK, which fights for greater Kurdish political and cultural rights, is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU.
Turkish defense minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday he told US officials on the sidelines of the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada last weekend that the establishment of observation posts on the Syrian-Turkish border “will have a negative impact.”
Akar claimed that the US is protecting YPG.
US and Turkish forces have begun join patrols in the Manbij area, where around 2,000 American troops are stationed supporting SDF operations against ISIS remnants.
The SDF is currently leading ground operations in Deir ez-Zor to dislodge ISIS from its final holdout in Hajin and desert areas near the Iraqi border. US-led Coalition warplanes are supporting the operation from the air.
According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, several civilians have been killed in Coalition air attacks. Coalition spokesman Col Sean Ryan has been unable to confirm or deny the reports.
ISIS counterattacks, taking advantage of recent poor weather conditions, have killed dozens of SDF fighters in recent weeks.
Turkish shelling on YPG positions on the Syria-Turkey border led to a halt in anti-ISIS operations earlier this month. US officials urged Turkey to stop targeting the SDF in order for operations to resume.
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