Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called the us “two-faced” and said that USA forces wearing the YPG patch was “unacceptable” Friday.
Advertisement
Washington’s strategy in Syria has shifted from trying to train thousands of fighters outside the country to supplying groups headed by US-vetted commanders.
The news photos appear to show US forces wearing the insignia of YPG – and even the YPJ, the all-women’s unit – and fighting under the command of the SDF.
Toner thanked Turkey for supporting the coalition against the Islamic State group, which U.S. officials variously refer to as ISIL, ISIS or Daesh.
When it comes to the YPG patch, Bowens said, “this practice is officially against uniform regulations”, but “U.S”.
Heavily armed USA soldiers have been photographed assisting a Kurdish militia unit fighting to re-take Raqqa, the Syrian city that the Islamic State (ISIL) calls its capital.
The SDF commander said his troops were moving with tanks and other heavy weapons toward areas north of Raqqa.
The writer states that U.S. special operation forces and the Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters they are advising pushed closer to Raqqa this week.
The U.S. and Turkey regard the PKK as a terror group, it having fought a three decade insurgency against the Turkish state.
Turkey fired artillery barrages from across the frontier and the US-led coalition launched air strikes in a bid to save its allies, whose various groupings in the enclave merged as the Army of Mujahideen a few days ago. “First of all, among them [forces on the ground] are, of course, armed forces of the Syrian Arab Republic, and, of course, different groups of Kurdish forces, including the armed part of the Democratic Union Party”, Lavrov said.
Col Warren said about 3,000 to 5,000 IS fighters were inside Raqqa. “And they are surrounded by civilian buildings”, Hamza also said.
The US aims to build up the Arab component of the SDF in preparation for an assault on Raqqa. They’re backed by paramilitary troops and USA -led coalition air support, as The Associated Press reports. In northern Syria, a Kurdish- Arab alliance also backed by coalition strikes meanwhile fought the jihadist group in its bastion province of Raqa.
“Nothing has changed in our relationships or our distance from the front lines of combat”, said Warren.
“They are not on the forward line”, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook told reporters when asked about the image.
Cook declined to say where those troops were, citing operational security. Some US troops wear the insignia of the YPG in an apparent show of support.
“As we’ve done (before), we are providing air power and support”, said Colonel Steve Warren, the spokesman for the USA -led coalition against Islamic State.
“Is it appropriate for US forces to be identified so closely with the YPG, given the nature of the operation in Raqqah, and the fact that it’s an Arab town?” one reporter asked Cook, who replied sternly.
Advertisement
The war has claimed the lives of more than 250,000 people nationwide and displaced more than 10 million, according to the United Nations.
