Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin: “Starting from Jarablus, the cleansing of this region is our priority”.
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While the U.S. has accepted Turkey’s designation of the PKK as a terrorist organization, Washington has resisted extending the designation to other Kurdish militias based in Syria and Iraq, while Ankara has maintained there is no distinction between them.
This is in disagreement with the YPG’s Jarabulus military council which said on Tuesday that it had agreed to a truce after consultations with the US-led coalition – allied to both the Turkish and YPG forces.
There were no reports of clashes between Turkey and the Kurds on Wednesday, marking the third day of calm and suggesting that the USA had prevailed over its two allies to keep their distance.
“We agreed on a ceasefire with the Turkish state via the United states and the global coalition” that is fighting the Islamic State group, said Ali Hajo, spokesman of the Jarablus Military Council.
Last week, Turkey sent its troops and warplanes to back Syrian rebels in their advance on Jarablus, a town near the Turkish border and the next IS-stronghold after Manbij.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Wednesday’s attack was carried out by a North African IS member. It said casualties were inflicted but did not give figures.
The officials said Wednesday that Turkish artillery had also fired 107 rounds at 25 “terrorist” targets in the IS-held villages of Zaghrah and Kuliyeh since Tuesday.
The officials provided the information on condition of anonymity, in line with government rules, without elaborating.
Turkish tanks head towards the Syrian border, in Karkamis, Turkey, Wednesday Aug. 31, 2016.
He reiterated Turkish calls that Washington has to live up to its assurances that the Syrian Kurdish forces withdraw east of the Euphrates and that the pullout immediately takes place.
The US had similarly admonished the Turkish forces, which invaded northern Syria last week, on the matter, insisting that the focus in the area should be exclusively on fighting ISIS, and not on the anti-ISIS factions fighting against one another.
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“The portion of the Kurds that are part of the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) are on the east side of the Euphrates River at this time”. On Tuesday, Turkey said USA criticism of its operations in northern Syria is “unacceptable”. US officials have since called on both sides to stand down, fearing that the conflict could undermine efforts to battle IS.
