Turkey-backed FSA militants prepare to replace American troops in Syria

The Turkey-supported militants of the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) say they are preparing to deploy in eastern Syria alongside Turkey’s army troops as soon as the announced pullout of the American forces in the region is completed, an FSA spokesman say.

Youssef Hammoud, quoted by Associated Press on Monday, further said that their forces and weapons have been deploying on the front line with Manbij, a flashpoint Kurdish-administered town in northern Syria where American troops are stationed along with the Syrian Kurdish militants of the People's Protection Units (YPG).

He went on to say that there was “no alternative” except Turkish forces and those of the FSA, a loose faction of anti-Damascus armed militants, adding that up to 15,000 “fighters” trained in Turkey are ready to take part in the operation.

Hammoud also noted that the initial focus was on Manbij and areas just across the nearby Euphrates River. “We are ready to fight Daesh” Takfiri terrorist group, he added.

PressTV-Turkey sends new troops to Kurdish-held northern Syria

Turkey dispatches military reinforcements to northern Syria, which is held by US-backed Kurdish militants, as American troops prepare to leave the Arab country.

Late last year, Washington infuriated Ankara by announcing a plan for the formation of a Kurdish militant force in Syria near the Turkish border. The plan prompted Turkey to launch a cross-border military operation on January 20 inside the Arab country, code-named Operation Olive Branch, with the declared aim of eliminating YPG from northern Syria, particularly the Afrin region.

The US-backed YPG, which controls swathes of Syria's northern border region, forms the backbone of the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an anti-Damascus alliance of predominantly Kurdish militants supported by Washington.

Ankara views the YPG as a terrorist organization and the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been fighting for an autonomous region inside Turkey since 1984.

PressTV-Trump signals US troop withdrawal from Syria

Trump has declared victory against Daesh terrorists in Syria as reports suggest that he is planning to pull out American troops from the country.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced his unexpected decision to pull all 2,000 American troops out of the war-ravaged Arab country, adding that the withdrawal would be slow and gradual, without providing a timetable.

Ankara, which has long been exasperated by the US support of the YPG Kurdish militants in Syria, warmly welcomed Trump’s abrupt decision and stressed that both Turkey and the US were coordinating to ensure there is no “authority vacuum” once the American troops withdraw.

PressTV-Turkey reinforces Syria border as US drawdown looms

Turkey sends military reinforcements to the border with Syria as US gets ready to take its troops out of the Arab country.

Additionally on Monday, Turkey's official Anadolu news agency quoted Abu Yazan, an FSA commanding officer, as saying that his Hamza Division had dispatched forces, heavy weapons and armored vehicles to the border line between “YPG/PKK-held areas” and other regions controlled by the Syrian army troops.

“Our units headed out to contact regions occupied by YPG/PKK terrorists,” he said, adding that his forces would take up important tasks during a highly-anticipated Turkish military operation in the northern city of Manbij, which lies in mainly Arab territory west of the Euphrates, back to the eastern bank of the river.

“We will liberate Manbij by sweeping away terrorists from the area,” he said, warning civilians to stay away from “YPG/PKK-occupied” areas.

Meanwhile, Associated Press quoted Ilham Ahmed, a senior Syrian Kurdish official, as saying her group was reaching out for help to back the Kurdish-administered areas against a possible Turkish offensive once the US troops leave. She also urged Trump to reverse his decision.

“We will deal with whoever can protect the good and stability of this country,” she further said, adding that her group was discussing with the Russians, Damascus and some European countries ways to deal with the US withdrawal, without giving more details.

Separately, the AP quoted the Kurdish-led Manbij Military Council, Sharfan Darwish, as saying on Monday that his forces “have taken measures to fend off any attack.”

The Syrian government has given a degree of authority to the Kurdish regions to run their own affairs. Washington, however, used the power vacuum to establish a foothold in those regions with the help of militants.

However, Ankara is strongly against recognizing the territory on its border, fearing it will stoke the separatist ambitions of Kurds in Turkey.

PressTV-US jets kill dozens after Trump announces Syria pullout

The US and its allies conduct air raids on Syria’s eastern Dayr al-Zawr province, killing more than two dozen people, including eight children.

A US-led military coalition has been conducting airstrikes against what are said to be Daesh targets inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from the Damascus or a United Nations mandate.

The military alliance has repeatedly been accused of targeting and killing civilians. It has also been largely incapable of achieving its declared goal of destroying Daesh.

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