US warns Turkey over operation in Syria

Any unilateral military action in northern Syria would be “unacceptable”, the Pentagon said Wednesday after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced he would launch an operation against a US-backed Kurdish militia.

The Pentagon has repeatedly warned that any fighting between the Turks and the Syrian Democratic Forces is a dangerous distraction from the core US mission in Syria of fighting Daesh.

The Pentagon said any unilateral military action in northeast Syria would be a “grave concern”.

Erdogan’s comments came a day after the Pentagon announced the setting up of US observation posts on the northeast Syria border region intended to prevent altercations between the Turkish army and the YPG despite calls from Ankara not to go ahead with the move.

Washington’s relationship with the YPG, the Kurdish component of the SDF is one of the main sources of tensions between the United States and NATO member Turkey.

Ankara has repeatedly lambasted Washington for providing military support to the Kurdish militia.