Syrian army to help Kurds in resisting Turkish attack
The Syrian army has entered in the northeastern town, Syrian state media said on Monday after Trump ordered to pull out American troops, and its former Kurdish allies reached a deal with Damascus to help resist a Turkish attack.
The abrupt U.S. withdrawal from the eight-year Syrian war, and the potential return of the Syrian army to the Kurdish-controlled northeast, are major victories for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies Russia and Iran.
The U.S. announced on Sunday it would swiftly withdraw its remaining 1,000 troops from northeast Syria, just four days after Turkey launched its cross-border offensive with a green light from President Donald Trump.
The Turkish assault has prompted widespread criticism and alarm that it could allow Islamic State fighters in Syria to escape their Kurdish-run prisons and regroup.
The Kurds announced on Sunday they were pursuing a new pact instead with Washington’s foes, Assad and his Russian backers. Meanwhile, the United States said it was pulling its troops out of Syria altogether.
Ankara says its operation aims to neutralize the Kurdish YPG militia, the main element of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which was the key U.S. partner in dismantling the jihadist “caliphate” set up by Islamic State militants in Syria.
Syrian state media said on Monday that Syrian troops entered Tel Tamer, a town on the strategically important M4 highway that runs east to west along the border with Turkey.
A top Syrian Kurdish official said a “preliminary military” deal with Damascus had been reached for government forces to enter border areas from the town of Manbij in the west to Derik, 400 km (250 miles) away in the northeast.
The army deployment would help the SDF in countering the Turkish offensive and “liberating the areas that the Turkish army and mercenaries had entered,” it added, referring to Turkey-backed Syrian rebels. It would allow the recapture of other Syrian cities captured by the Turkish army such as Afrin.
While the U.S. withdrawal moves American troops out of the line of fire, the return of Syrian soldiers to the border with Turkey opens up the possibility of a wider conflict should the Syrian army come in direct confrontation with Turkish forces.
Syrian Press Brief in New Delhi
Syrian Envoy in New Delhi addresses the press to brief the situation in Syria. In the address, he said, “On behalf of my govt we welcome the Indian statement on Turkish invasion of Syria. We appreciate the Indian position.”
On Pakistan supporting Turkey on their atrocities in the region, Syrian envoy slammed Islamabad for backing Turkish invasion. He said, “Turkey supports terror and all the countries who’re supporting Turkey, supports terror.”
The envoy dismissed Arab League & OIC support and asks what are they doing? He also accused Turkish Caliphs of destroying the name of Islam.
