Turkey demands U.S. stop aid to Kurdish militia in Syria

ISTANBUL — Turkey’s leader on Saturday urged the United States to stop supporting Syrian Kurdish militants as local media reported the Turkish military has moved armored vehicles and personnel carriers to a base near the Syrian border.

The relocation comes a day after U.S. troops were seen patrolling the tense border in Syria. The Syrian Kurdish militia is the main U.S. ally against Islamic State militants in Syria.

But Turkey views Syria’s Kurdish People’s Protection Units, known as YPG, as a terrorist organization and an extension of the Kurdish militants who have waged a three-decade-long insurgency against Turkey.

“The YPG, and you know who’s supporting them, is attacking us with mortars. But we will make those places their grave, there is no stopping,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

Footage shot Friday night showed a long line of trucks carrying military vehicles driving to the border area. The private Ihlas news agency reported the convoy was heading to southeastern Sanliurfa province from Kilis in the west. The base in the area is 30 miles from Syria’s Tal Abyad, a town controlled by the Kurdish militia.

The agency said the relocation comes after Turkish officials announced the completion of a phase of Turkey’s cross-border operation in Syria, adding that the force may be used against Syrian Kurdish militants “if needed.”

Tensions in the border area rose this week when Turkey conducted airstrikes against YPG bases in Syria and Iraq on Tuesday, which was followed by cross-border clashes between the two sides.