Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim
Turkish troops have begun carrying out duties in the northern Syrian town of Manbij, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Monday.
Turkish Armed Forces in cooperation with U.S. troops on Monday began patrolling the northern Syrian city of Manbij, local sources said.
Armoured vehicles of Turkish army were stationed around Sajur stream which divides Jarablus town, in the Operation Euphrates Shield area, and Manbij.
Turkish Armed Forces in cooperation with U.S. troops on Monday began patrolling the northern Syrian city of Manbij, local sources said.
Joint Turkey-US patrol forces enter Syria's Manbij
The patrols, in line with the roadmap on Manbij, lasted around three hours.
Speaking to reporters in the southern province of Antalya, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Manbij would be cleared of the YPG/PKK terrorists as soon as possible.
In a tweet, the Turkish Armed Forces said the patrols were being carried out between Manbij and Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield area.
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— Inherent Resolve (@CJTFOIR) 16 Haziran 2018 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 troops in Yemen alongside UAE forces: Le FigaroItaly sends troops to support YPG/PKK terroristsThus, the anti-Daesh coalition confirmed that French Special Forces are fighting alongside the PKK/YPG in Syria.McGurk statement on DashishaIn 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 ...— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) 17 Haziran 2018 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.US should disarm terrorist YPG/PKK:Turkish PMFrench troops in Manbij to be redeployed after enforcement of Turkey-US dealSources 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.
Anti-Daesh Coalition confirms France-PKK/YPG cooperation in Syria
Several Assad regime soldiers were killed when warplanes from a U.S.-led air coalition struck a military position in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor province, the regime-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported Monday.SANA quoted a Syrian military source as saying that coalition warplanes late Sunday had targeted a military site in the town of Al-Hiri southeast of Deir ez-Zor’s city of Al-Boukamal.A number of regime personnel were killed and injured in the attack, SANA reported without providing an exact casualty toll.The news agency went on to note that the attack had occurred three days after regime forces on the ground had registered substantial gains in the area.SANA accused the coalition of sporadically targeting regime assets in Syria while covertly supporting the Daesh terrorist group.“Field reports confirm that Washington is providing Daesh with various kinds of support to prevent its collapse [in Syria], thus maintaining its justification for keeping its illegal presence in the country,” SANA reported.The news agency went on to accuse the U.S. of trying to “steal the economic resources in the eastern region [of Syria] through its mercenaries [and] terrorist groups”.
US-led coalition strikes Assad regime position in Syria
The roadmap was first announced after a meeting in Washington last week between Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The deal focuses on the withdrawal of PKK-affiliated YPG terror group from the northern Syrian city and stability in the region.
Should the model prove to be a success, Turkey will push for a similar arrangement in eastern Syria.
In its over-30-year terrorist campaign against Turkey, the PKK has taken some 40,000 lives. The YPG/PKK is its Syrian branch.
Turkey has said the presence of terrorist forces near its border constitute a threat, and has launched military operations and other efforts to rid the region of terrorists.