Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (AA Photo)
2018-12-14
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SULAIMANI — Turkish forces will enter the Syrian town Manbij if the United States does not remove the Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) from the area, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday (December 14), after Ankara said this week it would launch a new operation to target the fighters.
Erdogan, in a speech in Istanbul, said Turkey was determined to bring peace to the area east of the Euphrates River in Syria, according to Reuters.
The US has warned Turkey not to take unilateral action.
Ankara and Washington have long been at odds over Syria, where the United States has backed the YPG in the fight against Islamic State (ISIS). Turkey says the YPG is an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
US troops are known to be in the Manbij area and have agreed to conduct joint patrols with Turkish forces in the area.
Also on Friday, the YPG-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces captured the last town held by ISIS on Friday (December 14), after days of intense battles in the militants’ single remaining enclave in eastern Syria.
(NRT Digital Media/Reuters)