US moves aside for Turkish assault on Kurds

US troops in Syria have already started pulling out, clearing the way for an expected Turkish assault on Kurdish fighters.

Syrian Kurds take part in a demonstration against Turkish threats at Ras al-Ain in Hasakeh province near the Turkish border on Monday. Picture: AFP

US forces have begun pulling out of northeast Syria, only hours after the White House announced it would clear the way for an expected Turkish assault, essentially abandoning Kurdish fighters who fought alongside American troops in the battle to defeat Islamic State.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened for months to launch the military ­operation across the border. He views the Kurdish forces as a threat to his country.

Republicans and Democrats have warned that allowing the Turkish attack could lead to a massacre of the Kurds and send a troubling message to US allies across the globe.

After the announcement US President Donald Trump tweeted that others “would have to “figure the situation out”.

“Turkey, Europe, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Russia and the Kurds will now have to figure the situation out, and what they want to do with the captured ISIS fighters in their ‘neighborhood’.” he said.

“It is time for us to get out of these ridiculous Endless Wars, many of them tribal, and bring our soldiers home. WE WILL FIGHT WHERE IT IS TO OUR BENEFIT, AND ONLY FIGHT TO WIN.”

US troops “will not support or be involved in the operation” and “will no longer be in the immediate area”, in northern Syria, White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said in a statement that was silent on the fate of the Kurds.

There are about 1000 US troops in northern Syria, and a senior US official said they would ­potentially leave the country ­entirely should widespread fighting break out between Turkish and Kurdish forces.

The White House statement said Turkey would take custody of foreign fighters captured in the US-led campaign against ISIS who have been held by the Kurdish forces supported by the US. The announcement followed a call between Mr Trump and Mr Erdogan.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said on Monday that US troops had already withdrawn from the northeast after failing to meet commitments and it would have a “great negative” impact on its war against ­Islamic State.

“The American forces did not fulfil their commitments and withdrew their forces from the border areas with Turkey, and Turkey is now preparing for an invasion ­operation of northern and eastern Syria,” the SDF said.

The decision is an illustration of Mr Trump’s focus on ending American overseas entanglements — one of his key campaign promises. But his goal of swift withdrawals in Syria, Iraq and ­Afghanistan have been stymied by concerns from US officials and ­allies about the dangerous voids that would remain.

Mr Trump announced in ­December he was withdrawing US troops from Syria but was met with widespread condemnation for abandoning Kurdish allies to the Turkish assault.

It prompted the resignation of defence secretary Jim Mattis, and a co-ordinated effort by then-­national security adviser John Bolton to try to protect the Kurds.

Since January US officials have tried to broker the creation of a “safe zone” in northern Syria to provide a security buffer ­between the Turkish military and Kurdish forces, but Ankara has objected to its slow ­implementation.

The White House announcement came a day after Mr Erdogan offered the strongest warning yet of a unilateral military operation into northeastern Syria, as the Turkish military has been dispatching units and defence equipment to its border with the area.

“We have given all kinds of warning regarding the east of the Euphrates to the relevant parties. We have acted with enough ­patience,” Mr Erdogan said on Sunday.

The SDF threatened to respond forcefully to any Turkish incursion. “We will not hesitate to turn any unprovoked attack by Turkey into an all-out war on the entire border to DEFEND ourselves and our people,” SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali tweeted.

Turkey considers the People’s Protection Units (YPG) an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency in Turkey for 35 years.

A senior US official earlier said that American troops would pull back from the security zone in northeastern Syria, where they had been working with Turkish troops, to an unspecified out-of-the-way location. There have been US troops around Manbij.

The official said US leaders had spoken with the SDF and the group was disappointed and angry.

James Jeffrey, the US envoy to the coalition fighting ISIS, and Mr Trump have said the Kurds have custody of thousands of captured ISIS militants. They include about 2500 foreign fighters from Europe and elsewhere whose countries have been reluctant to take them back, and another 10,000 or so captured fighters from Syria and Iraq.

Mr Trump has repeatedly ­demanded that European countries take back their citizens who joined the terrorist group. Kurdish officials have ­expressed concerns of a possible breakout by prisoners in case of fighting in the area.

AP