The United States is working with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a key partner in the ongoing fight against Islamic State, as the group faces attacks from Turkish-backed fighters, the Defense Secretary said. from the USA, Lloyd Austin.
The US was closely monitoring the “very dynamic” situation in Syria, Austin told reporters in Japan on Wednesday.
“We have been working with the SDF for some time and this continues”, he said. “We have a good relationship with them and I believe it will continue that way.”
An SDF commander said on Tuesday (10) that troops had agreed to withdraw from the town of Manbij, under his control, in northern Syria, near the border with Turkey, after reaching a ceasefire agreement for through US mediation.
However, the forces’ fighters continued their “resistance” in the city, he added.
The military’s remarks came after the director of a critical dam near Manbij accused Turkey of an attack on the facility that cut power and raised concerns about its potential collapse.
The SDF also alleged that drones launched by the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) attacked a Kurdish village in Syria, killing at least two civilians, including a child.
THE CNN is trying to contact the Turkish government for comment.
Storming of Deir Ezzor
Meanwhile, in eastern Syria, the newly formed rebel coalition, Military Operations Command, claimed to have seized the city of Deir Ezzor from the SDF – which was disputed by the forces, claiming that their troops had only withdrawn from the western banks of the River Euphrates.
This Wednesday (11), Austin reiterated that the US force posture remains unchanged and that it would be “in close contact with our partners in the region” as the situation develops.
The top priority is to protect American troops and prevent the resurgence of Islamic States, he explained.
Different groups control Syrian territory
Several armed groups operate and control regions in Syria:
- Syrian Democratic Forces – SDF
- Free Syrian Army – FSA
- Hayat Tahrir al-Sham -HTS
- Syrian National Army – SNA (supported by Türkiye, which incorporates dozens of factions with various ideologies)
The SDF is largely made up of Kurdish fighters from a group known as the People’s Protection Units (YPG), considered a terrorist organization by Türkiye.
Kurdish forces occupy the northeast of the country, having gained autonomy during a decade of civil war. They fear that their sovereignty may now be under threat from the Syrian opposition insurgents, who overthrew the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Understand the conflict in Syria
The Assad family regime was overthrown in Syria on December 8, after 50 years in power, when rebel groups took over the capital Damascus.
President Bashar al-Assad has fled the country and is in Moscow after gaining asylum, according to a source in Russia.
Syria’s civil war began during the Arab Spring in 2011, when the regime of Bashar al-Assad suppressed a pro-democracy uprising.
The country was plunged into full-scale conflict when a rebel force was formed, known as the Free Syrian Army, to fight government troops.
Furthermore, the Islamic State, a terrorist group, also managed to gain a foothold in the country and came to control 70% of Syrian territory.
Fighting escalated as other regional actors and world powers — from Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United States to Russia — joined in, escalating the country’s war into what some observers described as a “proxy war.”
Russia has allied with Bashar al-Assad’s government to combat the Islamic State and rebels, while the United States has led an international coalition to repel the terrorist group.
After a ceasefire agreement in 2020, the conflict remained largely “dormant”, with minor clashes between the rebels and the Assad regime.
More than 300,000 civilians have been killed in more than a decade of war, according to the UN, and millions of people have been displaced across the region.
This content was originally published in US says it is working with Kurdish forces after Syrian attack on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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