An estimated 1,700 Syrian Arabs have abandoned the frontlines against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) to assist the Kurds in their fight against Turkey in northern Syria as Ankara claims to have seized “nearly half” of the Afrin region.
The U.S. military denies having a “direct relationship” with members of a Kurdish militia under attack from Turkey in Syria’s Afrin region despite acknowledging they have “familial ties” to the very same Kurds who helped the U.S.-led coalition bring the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) to its knees in the region.
The Russian and Iranian-allied regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad is reportedly assisting the U.S.-backed Kurds in their efforts to repel Turkey’s offensive in northern Syria’s Afrin region.
The U.S.-led coalition and its Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) allies repelled an attack by troops loyal to the Russian and Iranian-backed regime of Bashar al-Assad, killing more than 100 of the Syrian government fighters in Deir ez-Zor province.
Turkey has attempted to secretly communicate with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG)-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to retrieve hundreds of killed Turkish soldiers as clashes between the Turks and Kurds continue in northern Syria’s Afrin region, reports the Kurdish outlet Bas News.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Monday to annihilate a 30,000-strong Kurdish-majority force in Syria that has the backing of the United States.
