Baladi News - Journals
Turkish and US troops began joint patrols Thursday in the Syrian city of Manbij as the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group sought to calm renewed tensions between Ankara and a Kurdish-led Syrian alliance fighting the jihadists.
The coalition said in a statement Thursday that "maintaining security and stability in Manbij is imperative to sustaining momentum" in the ongoing push to defeat IS in Syria.
"We're fully supportive of the road map and the combined joint patrols, and I am confident they will be very effective," said Major General Christopher Ghika, deputy commander of the coalition.
Earlier this week, Turkey once again raised threats against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), shelling its positions and warning of a new offensive to clear the militia from its border.
That sparked concern in Washington as it attempts to balance its ties with the YPG, a key force in the fight against IS, and its NATO ally Ankara.
The YPG forms the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the US-led coalition's main ground partner in the fight against IS in Syria.
Although the YPG claims to have pulled out of the city after the SDF seized it from IS in 2016, Ankara has recently complained that the group still has a presence there, repeatedly threatening military action.
Source: The Daily Mail Online.