The U.S. troops that are based in Syria have been repositioned in the northern part of the country after an operation by the Turkish soldiers against the Kurds in Syria that are backed by the U.S., the Pentagon reported.
Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman issued a statement on Tuesday in which he denied the rumors that President Donald Trump missed informing his officials like Defense Secretary Mike Esper and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Army General Mark A. Milley to move the troops after a call with the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
‘’Despite continued misreporting to the contrary, Secretary Esper and Chairman Milley were consulted over the last several days by the President Regarding the situation and efforts to protect U.S. forces in northern Syria in the face of military action by Turkey.’’
‘’The Department’s position has been and remains that establishing a safe zone in northern Syria is the best path forward to maintaining stability. Unfortunately, Turkey has chosen to act unilaterally. As a result, we have moved the U.S. forces in northern Syria out of the path of potential Turkish incursion to ensure their safety. We have made no changes to our force presence in Syria at this time,’’ said Hoffman in the statement.
The Coordination and Military Operations Center of the majority-Kurdish, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces reported an attack on one of its positions in Ra al-Ain, right after the Pentagon statement was released.
The Coordination and Military Operations Center wrote on its Twitter account:
‘’The Turkish military is shelling one of our points on #SereKaniye border with Turkey There were no injuries to our forces. We did not respond to this unprovoked attack. We are prepared to defend the people and the people of NE #Syria.
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