Erdogan threatens to ‘nip in the bud’ new USbacked Syria force

ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday threatened to thwart the creation of a new US-backed 30,000strong border security force in northern Syria before it was even set up.

“America has acknowledged it is in the process of creating a terror army on our border. What we have to do is nip this terror army in the bud,” Erdogan said in a televised speech outside Ankara.

Turkish officials objected earlier that the new force would be comprised of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia Ankara accuses of being terrorists.

The YPG played a a key role in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance that last year ousted Islamic State jihadists from their stronghold of Raqa in northern Syria.

American officials said at the weekend that the new force was needed as the focus shifted from fighting IS extremists to border security in northern Syria.