The United States has been accused of turning its back on its allies by the Kurds and risking the gains made by fighting ISIS, due to the pulling back on Monday from several positions in Syria as a Turkish assault has been announced earlier.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces issued a statement in which they said:
‘’We will not hesitate for a moment in defending our people against the Turkish troops.’’
They also said that they lost 11,000 fighters in the war against the Islamic State in Syria.
The International Rescue Committee warned on Monday that somewhere around 300,000 people could immediately be driven away from their homes in northeast Syria.
In the meantime, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a threat that Turkey might launch the military operation across the border. On Monday Erdogan said that American troops have started pulling back following his conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump.
‘’The American forces did not abide by their commitments and withdrew their forces along the border with Turkey,’’ said SDF in a statement.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia realizes Turkey’s need to ensure its security, but noted that it is necessary to respect Syria’s territorial and political integrity. He did not comment on whether the American withdrawal could push the Kurds to seek a dialogue with Syria.
Abdulkarim Omar, a senior Kurdish official said that the Kurds have been expecting America to withdraw and prepared themselves for it, but did not give any further comments.
‘’We have been flexible even in dealing with Russia, which may play a role in the political resolution. We were flexible even in regard to Damascus. But what happened today is illogical.’’
SDF spokesman, Mustafa Bali wrote on Twitter that his group had not been not expecting the United States to protect northeastern Syria, but the people there are owed an explanation regarding the security mechanism deal and destruction of fortifications.
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