“The YPG needs to retreat back to the east of Euphrates River, as they and the United States has previously pledged, and will be targeted if they fail to do so” Çavuşoğlu said during a press conference.
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The Jarablus Military Council, which is part of the SDF, said its fighters will withdraw to areas south of the Sajour River, a tributary of the Euphrates.
The push south of Jarabulus by Turkey and its rebel allies seems meant to prevent Kurdish fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces from pushing northward and creating a Kurdish buffer zone along the border with Turkey.
Ankara is anxious that Kurdish forces are trying to extend their area of control along Turkeys southern border.
Turkey has said its warplanes and artillery have bombarded positions held by the Kurdish YPG militia in recent days. Turkey denied any civilians had been hit.
Turkey is battling a Kurdish insurgency on its soil.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said one of the main goals of the August 24 push into Syria to take the border town of Jarabulus was to “wipe out” the YPG (People’s Protection Units), the USA -supported military wing of the PYD, or Democratic Union Party of Syrian Kurds.
Cook said the USA doesn’t support reported Turkish airstrikes and artillery shelling of US -backed Syrian Kurdish fighters – or Kurdish attacks on Turkish troops – in areas where IS fighters no longer operate.
YPG officials insist that their fighters have returned across the river. But Turkey and its proxies say they have not kept their promise.
The YPG, a powerful Syrian Kurdish militia in the SDF that Washington sees as a reliable ally against jihadists in the Syrian conflict, have dismissed the Turkish allegation and say any of its forces west of the Euphrates have long since left. “If they don’t they will be a target”.
The United States is now caught between the demands of two key allies.
“The SDF proved very effective in Manbij, and Turkey is an extremely effective, not only counter-ISIL partner, but North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally”, he said during a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart.
The U.S.’s support for the SDF is likely to be discussed when Obama meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday prior to the start of the G20 summit in China. “They have fought hard and sacrificed to try and rid Syria of this hateful group”.
The rebels nearly immediately clashed with the US -backed SDF just south of Jarabulus.
Then last week, on a visit to Turkey, Vice President Joe Biden said the YPG would “under no circumstances” get United States support unless they honored what he said was a pledge to retreat east of the river.
That could lead to more confrontations with Turkey and its Syrian proxies in and near Manbij.
“We have our lines of defense, and we are ready to defend Manbij”, said Derwish, an ethnic Kurd who has also served as a spokesman for the SDF.
Damascus said that any anti-terror activity on the Syrian land should be done through coordination with the Syrian government and the army.
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US officials stressed that Turkey’s actions would be another distraction from the effort to defeat ISIS and could bolster the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has been backed by Russian airstrikes since last September.
