US troops withdrawn from northeast Syria ahead of Turkish offensive

Istanbul - The United States said it was

pulling troops from northeast Syria, in a major shift which

clears the way for a Turkish military offensive against

Kurdish-led forces and hands Turkey responsibility for thousands

of Islamic State captives.

A US official said American troops had withdrawn from two

observation posts on the border, at Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ain,

and had told the commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic

Forces that the United States would not defend the SDF from an

imminent Turkish offensive.

"Turkey will soon be moving forward with its long-planned

operation into Northern Syria," the White House said after

President Donald Trump spoke to Turkey's President Tayyip

Erdogan on Sunday.

"The United States Armed Forces will not support or be

involved in the operation, and United States forces, having

defeated the ISIS territorial "Caliphate", will no longer be in

the immediate area," it added in a statement.

Turkey has long argued for the establishment of a 20-mile

(32 km) "safe zone" along the border, under Turkish control,

driving back the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia - which is the

dominant force in the SDF alliance and which Ankara considers a

terrorist organisation and a threat to its national security.

A line of US military vehicles travel down a main road in northeast Syria. US-backed Kurdish-led forces in Syria said American troops began withdrawing Monday from their positions along Turkey's border in northeastern Syria, ahead of an anticipated Turkish invasion that the Kurds say will overturn five years of achievements in the battle against the Islamic State group. Picture: ANHA via AP

The United States helped the YPG defeat Islamic State

militants in Syria, and had been seeking a joint 'security

mechanism' with Turkey along the border to meet Turkey's

security needs without threatening the SDF.

The SDF accused Washington on Monday of reneging on an ally

which spearheaded the fight against Islamic State in Syria, and

warned that it would have a "great negative" impact on the war

against the jihadists.

"The American forces did not fulfill their commitments and

withdrew their forces from the border areas with Turkey, and

Turkey is now preparing for an invasion operation of northern

and eastern Syria," it said in a statement.

SDF official Mustafa Bali said US forces were "leaving

leaving the areas to turn into a war zone".

Turkish armoured vehicles conduct a joint ground patrol with American forces in the so-called "safe zone" on the Syrian side of the border with Turkey, near the town of Tal Abyad, northeastern Syria. Picture: Baderkhan Ahmad/AP

ISLAMIC STATE CAPTIVES

The White House statement appeared to hand over to Turkey

responsibility for captured Islamic State jihadists who are

currently held in SDF facilities to the south of Turkey's

initially proposed safe zone.

"Turkey will now be responsible for all ISIS fighters in the

area captured over the past two years," it said.

The statement also made pointed reference to Washington's

European allies, saying many of the captured IS fighters came

from those countries, which had resisted US calls to take them

back.

"The United States will not hold them for what could be many

years and great cost to the United States taxpayer," the White

House said.

In the first Turkish comment following the statement,

Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Turkey's "safe zone" plan

was within the framework of Syria's territorial integrity.

2/Safe zone will serve two purposes: secure Turkey’s borders by eliminating terrorist elements and allow refugees to return to their homes.

Turkey will also continue to fight against DAESH and will not allow it to return in any shape and form.
— Ibrahim Kalin (@ikalin1) October 7, 2019

"The safe zone has two aims: to secure our borders by

clearing away terrorist elements and to achieve the return of

refugees in a safe way," Kalin wrote on Twitter.

"Turkey is powerful and determined," he added.

Turkey says it wants to settle up to 2 million Syrian

refugees in the zone. It currently hosts 3.6 million Syrians

sheltering from the more than eight-year-old conflict in their

homeland.

After the statements, Turkey's lira was trading

weaker at 5.7150 against the US dollar, compared with a close

of 5.70 on Friday.

A US soldier oversees members of the Syrian Democratic Forces as they demolish a Kurdish fighters' fortification as part of the so-called "safe zone" near the Turkish border. Picture: US Army photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew Goedl via AP

After the Erdogan-Trump phone call, the Turkish presidency

said the two leaders had agreed to meet in Washington next

month.

It said that during the call Erdogan had expressed his

frustration with the failure of U.S. military and security

officials to implement the agreement between the two countries.

The NATO allies agreed in August to establish a zone in

northeast Syria along the border with Turkey.

Turkey says the United States moved too slowly to set up the

zone. It has repeatedly warned of launching an offensive on its

own into northeast Syria.

Ties between the allies have also been pressured over