WASHINGTON – The United States (US) said on Sunday it will withdraw its remaining 1,000 troops from northern Syria in the face of an expanding Turkish offensive while Syria’s army struck a deal with Kurdish forces to redeploy along its border with Turkey.
The remarkable turn of events was set in motion a week ago when US President Donald Trump decided to withdraw around 50 special operation forces from two outposts in northern Syria, a step widely seen as paving the way for Turkey to launch its week-long incursion against Kurdish militia in the region.
Turkey aims to neutralize the Kurdish YPG militia, the main element of Washington’s Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which has been a key US ally in dismantling the jihadist “caliphate,” set up by Islamic State militants in Syria.(Reuters)
