US clears way for Turkish operation against Kurdish militia in Syria
Robert Inlakesh
Press TV, London
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced following a phone call with US President Donald Trump that US forces are beginning their withdrawal from north east Syria and that Turkey will soon commence its long planned military operation against Kurdish forces in the area.
The operation will reportedly pave the way for what Turkey calls a “safe zone” to be established between Kurdish militant held areas belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Turkey, into which Erdogan has announced his government will re-settle 50% of 2 million Syrian refugees it wishes to repatriate to Syria.
The withdrawal of US forces has been deemed by the SDF as a “stab in the back” to Kurdish militias that have been long backed by the United States, with the withdrawal putting in jeopardy the possibility of Kurdish militias forming a future Kurdish State in north east Syria.
The planned military operation by Turkey has previously been criticized as threatening Syrian territorial integrity, although the Syrian government has not yet commented on the latest development regarding the initiated withdrawal of US troops from Kurdish militant held areas in north eastern Syria.
With the US troop withdrawal, a Turkish military operation is predicted to overcome any Kurdish defense of the area, in perhaps a similar way that Turkey’s operation olive branch did, against Kurdish forces holding Syria’s Afrin, back in 2018.
US announces $6 billion military aid for Ukraine amid massive strikes
US to pull out troops from Chad in second African state withdrawal
Yemeni armed forces strike British oil tanker in Red Sea
VIDEO | Press TV's news headlines
VIDEO | IRAN EXPO 2024 spotlights free trade zones
Columbia University students defy deadline to clear pro-Palestinian encampment
Yemen strikes several vessels in fresh defensive, pro-Palestinian operations
No peace in world without permanent ceasefire in Gaza: Pakistan PM
VIDEO | After 12 years of closure, Yemen’s national museum reopens
VIDEO | Pariah regime cornered
VIDEO | Palestinian rescuers search for casualties following Israeli strike on Rafah
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
