File photo
The U.S.-led anti-Daesh Coalition, formally known as the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), has confirmed that French troops are fighting in Syria alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a front for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terror group.
A photo was shared on the Official Twitter account of the International Coalition for Operation Inherent Resolve, showing French soldiers firing artillery shots against Daesh targets in Syria.
#France @armeedeterre Task Force #Wagram fires Caesar howitzers at #Daesh in #Syria. Phase two of #OperationRoundup, which began on June 3, targets the area in and around Dashisha, Syria. #Chammal #CJTFOIR #DefeatDaesh pic.twitter.com/9fvc07U0vZ
The photo was shared with the caption, “French Infantry Task Force fires Caesar howitzer at Daesh in Syria. Phase two of Operation Roundup, which began on June 3, targets the area in and around Dashisha, Syria,” and went on to state that targets belonging to Daesh in Dashisha and its outskirts were struck.
French Special Forces are on the ground in Yemen actively fighting Shia Houthi rebels, French daily Le Figaro reported on Saturday.Le Figaro quoted unnamed military sources as saying that French Special Forces were fighting in Yemen alongside troops from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).The newspaper did not provide any additional details.The French authorities, meanwhile, have yet to comment on the report.On Friday, the French Defense Ministry said it was considering taking part in mine-sweeping operations to facilitate access to Yemen’s strategic Al-Hudeidah seaport, which Yemeni government forces -- with the help of a Saudi-led military coalition -- are now trying to wrest from the Houthis.The ministry stressed, however, that French forces were not currently taking part in the ongoing military operations in Al-Hudeidah.On Wednesday, Yemeni forces and the Saudi-led coalition launched a major operation aimed at retaking Al-Hudeidah -- and its strategic seaport -- from the Houthis, who captured it in 2014.Yemen’s internationally-recognized government (currently based in the port city of Aden) and its Saudi-led allies accuse the Houthis of using the port to import weapons from Iran.Last week, the UN warned that a major military assault on Al-Hudeidah by the Saudi-led coalition could adversely affect as many as 250,000 people.“Humanitarian agencies in Yemen are deeply worried by the likely impact of a possible military assault on… Al-Hudeidah,” Lise Grande, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, said in a statement released last Friday.Impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when the Houthis and their allies overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa.The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies -- including the UAE -- launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.The following year, UN-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait failed to end the destructive conflict.The ongoing violence has devastated Yemen’s infrastructure, including water and sanitation systems, prompting the UN to describe the situation as “one of the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times”.
French troops in Yemen alongside UAE forces: Le Figaro
Italy has sent troops to Deir Ez-Zor province in eastern Syria to support the YPG/PKK terrorist group, according to local sources.Troops have been dispatched around a week ago to areas occupied by the terrorist group in the province near Iraqi border, the sources told Anadolu Agency, requesting anonymity due security fears.According to the sources, the Italian soldiers arrived last week to the city of Al-Hasakah coming from Iraq before heading to Deir Ez-Zor.Soldiers have been sent to the U.S. military base in the oil-rich Al-Omar region, the sources said.The Italian soldiers, whose number is unknown, include military advisors who supported U.S. and French forces in anti-Daesh terrorist group operations.The soldiers have not participated to the moment in any military operations against Daesh.Daesh terrorist group has been besieged in two separated border areas near Iraqi border, particularly near Syria’s Deir Ez-Zor and Al-Hasakah.In May, YPG/PKK, backed by the U.S. and France, began an anti-Daesh operation. However, no gains against Daesh have yet been made.
Italy sends troops to support YPG/PKK terrorists
Thus, the anti-Daesh coalition confirmed that French Special Forces are fighting alongside the PKK/YPG in Syria.
McGurk statement on Dashisha
In a statement published on his official Twitter account, U.S. President Donald Trump’s Special Representative in the Fight against Daesh Brett McGurk said that this marks the first time in four years that Dashisha has been free from Daesh.
Mcgurk also noted that the SDF, which is a front for PKK terrorists, had advanced “significantly” in the region.
News from east #Syria: for the first time in four years, #Dashiha, a notorious transit town for weapons, fighters, and suicide bombers between #Iraq & Syria, is no longer controlled by #ISIS terrorists. Significant progress by #SDF over the last 72 hours. More to come ...
French soldiers fighting alongside PKK/YPG
Over the past days, 70 soldiers from the French Special Forces assumed duties fighting alongside PKK/YPG terrorists under the umbrella of the anti-Daesh Coalition.
Along with French Special Forces, the 1st Marine Infantry Paratroop Regiment and the 10th Paratroop Commando Force are also operating in the region.
While these forces are technically stationed in Iraq, they frequently cross into northern Syria via the Simelka border crossing.
French Special Forces established six artillery batteries in a YPG/PKK-held area near Syria's border with Iraq last May.
Turkey’s premier said late Monday that the U.S. should disarm the YPG/PKK terror group in Syria.Speaking in the Aegean Izmir province, Binali Yildirim said YPG/PKK terrorists moving to the east of the Euphrates is not a cure-all."As there is a terror group equipped with heavy weapons, it is a primary threat to our country," Yildirim stressed."We cannot ignore this and the terror elements there must be dissolved, they should be disarmed of their weapons. The U.S. is the one that will do that," he added.Turkey has complained of the U.S. supplying the YPG/PKK of weapons.Yildirim said that if the U.S. does not disarm them, Turkey will do what is necessary for its own security."This is also our right stemming from international law at the same time," he said.The YPG/PKK and PYD/PKK are Syrian offshoots of the PKK terror group, which has taken some 40,000 lives in its 30-year terrorist campaign against the Turkish state, including those of women and children.Turning to Turkey's operation in Mt. Qandil, northern Iraq, Yildirim said the operation's ultimate goal is neutralizing the PKK terror group so that it can no longer harm Turkey."We are not eyeing the territories of others. Our aim is to destroy a terror group which disturbs our country from outside our borders and threatens the safety of our people’s life and property," Yildirim said.Airstrikes on PKK targets in northern Iraq, where the terror group has its main base in the Mt. Qandil region, near the Iranian border, have been carried out regularly since July 2015, when the terrorist PKK resumed its armed campaign.
US should disarm terrorist YPG/PKK:Turkish PM
French troops are expected to move to Syria’s Sunaym region, located east of the Euphrates, which is home to French cement factories, once the Manbij deal between Ankara and Washington is actualized.Turkey and the United States earlier this week agreed on a Manbij roadmap that focuses on the withdrawal of the PKK-affiliated PYD/YPG terror group from the northern Syrian city and on stability in the region. France has no role in the deal, so eyes have turned to the country regarding its presence in the region.Once the Manbij deal is implemented and the terror group withdraws from the region, French soldiers are also expected to withdraw. It is expected that the French troops will relocate to Sunaym, which is positioned 15 to 20 kilometers to the east of Manbij.Top PKK figures flee as Turkish troops advance in northern IraqSunaym is known for its French cement factories, which supply Daesh and the PKK/PYD terror groups support. French giant Lafarge, which was exposed for paying taxes to Daesh, came into the spotlight when it was found that it supplied the cement used by the PKK/PYD for tunnels and bunkers in Afrin, where the Turkish Armed Forces are currently conducting an operation.The PYD and its military YPG wing are Syrian branches of the PKK, which has waged war against Turkey for more than 30 years.Sever all ties with YPG terror group, Turkey tells USTurkey to establish ‘safe corridor’ between Syria, Iran bordersUS defense secretary comments on Syria's Manbij talks
French troops in Manbij to be redeployed after enforcement of Turkey-US deal
Sources said that French troops, which support the terror group in Syria, have established artillery batteries in the north of Baguz village of Deir ez-Zor province.
French troops have recently increased their presence in some YPG/PKK-held areas in Syria, including Manbij, al-Hasakah, Ayn Issa and Raqqah.
In March, leaders of the SDF -- which is, in fact, the Syrian branch of the PKK terror group -- met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
In April, reports claimed that the French army was planning to increase its presence in northern Syria, as 50 senior French soldiers arrived aboard four planes in Syria’s Manbij, and held meetings with terrorists from the PKK-affiliated YPG.
Listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU, the PKK has waged a wide-ranging terror campaign against the Turkish state since the mid-1980s, in which an estimated 40,000 people have been killed.