US begins withdrawing forces from Syria-Turkey border

DAMASCUS: The United States on Monday pulled out forces from observation points in northeastern Syria along the borderline with Turkey amid threats by Ankara to launch a military campaign against the US-backed Kurdish forces, a war monitor reported.

The US withdrew forces from observation posts at Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ain in northeast Syria and withdrawal comes at a time the Turkish government has been threatening a military campaign against Kurdish militias in northern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unleashed his strongest warning yet, threatening to launch a military operation against the USbacked Kurdish militia groups in northeastern Syria.

In August, the US and Turkey agreed to have joint patrols into designated Kurdish areas near the Turkish border as a prelude to imposing a safe zone.

In his speech on Saturday, Erdogan said the deal with the US to secure the border with Turkey was faltering.

Meanwhile, the Kurdishled Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said in a statement Monday that the US didn’t live up to its pledges to defuse the tension with Turkey despite the “flexibility” the Kurdish militia has shown regarding the U.S.-Turkish understanding to create a safe zone in northern Syria.

The SDF said that the Turkish campaign will undermine the SDF war on terrorist groups such as the Islamic State (IS) and will endanger the security and safety established in Kurdish-controlled areas in northeastern Syria.