السلام عليكم
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The US is pulling out all of its troops from northern Syria as Turkey advances its operation against the Kurds.
Defence Secretary Mark Esper said Turkey "likely intends" to extend its attack further than originally planned.
The assault is aimed at forcing out Kurdish forces - the main US ally in the area. They may be seeking help from Syria and Russia, said Mr Esper, and the US would not be defending them.
Syria has now announced it is sending troops north to face Turkish forces...."
[...]
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurdish-led fighters under attack from Turkey, warned last week that they would no longer be able to guard suspected IS members and their families in camps and prisons under their control if the Turkish offensive continued.
And on Sunday, Kurdish officials said nearly 800 relatives of foreign IS members had escaped from Ain Issa, a camp in the north, as clashes raged nearby.
[...]
The US defence secretary's announcement of a "deliberate withdrawal" of US troops from northern Syria underscores the pace at which the situation on the ground is deteriorating.
Amid heavy fighting, wayward shelling, alleged war crimes, and reports of IS supporters breaking out from camps and holding centres, Washington has clearly decided it cannot stand against Turkey's determination to see this operation through.
Interestingly, Mark Esper also noted that in the past 24 hours the US had learned that the Turks "likely intended to expand their attack further south than originally planned and to the west".
This is clearly what is seen as threatening US forces, and it risks additional humanitarian suffering and the escape of more IS fighters.
His reference to the largely-Kurdish SDF forces seeking alliances with the Syrian regime and Russia - Syria's main backer and a major player in the conflict - illustrates that the regional ramifications of this crisis are becoming ever more dangerous.
[...]
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50034802