Trump has stern warning for Turkey over Kurds

President Donald Trump warned yesterday that if Turkey attacked US-backed Kurdish forces in Syria, the United States will ‘‘devastate Turkey economically.’’ Trump’s decision to pull American troops out of Syria has left the United States’ Kurdish allies vulnerable to an attack from Turkey. Ankara views the Kurdish forces as terrorists aligned with insurgents inside Turkey. In a tweet, Trump also warned the Kurdish forces not to ‘‘provoke Turkey.’’ The US withdrawal has begun with shipments of military equipment, US defence officials said.