Kurdish forces in north east Syria have reached a deal with the Syrian government to confront the Turkish invasion, wherefore the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) had entered Tel Tamer, Ayn Issa Subdistrict, and other cities located in Tal Abyad in Raqqa and Al-Hasakah governorate on Monday, Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.
Upon the agreement, the Kurdish forces would surrender the border towns of Manbij and Kobane to the Syrian army in a deal brokered by Russia. However, some unconfirmed reports said that the deal between the Kurdish and the regime would be extended to apply to the whole of north-east Syria.
Commenting on the agreement, Ismat Sheikh Hassan, the leader of the military council in Kobane, said it seems that the fate of the Kurdish people is to be abandoned.
The local television quoted him saying, “We did everything that we could, we called upon the international community, but it did not result in any solution. We urged all Kurds to show solidarity, but no one listened.”
Meanwhile, the US president Donald Trump ordered to pull out the remaining 1,000 US troops from north-east Syria, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Sunday.
Esper told the American CBS News, that one factor behind the withdrawal of the US troops was that the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Force (SDF) is about to reach a deal with Russia and Syria to counter the Turkish offensive. Hours later, the Kurdish administration announced that it had made such a deal to counter the Turkish military operation in Syria.
As US troops begin to withdraw, and the Turkish forces are pushing further south into Syria, the French presidency declared in a statement that it will take measures to ensure the safety of its military forces and civilians in north eastern Syria, without providing any further details.
Although France is one of the main allies in the US-led coalition, which is fighting against the Islamic State in Syria, the US withdrawal has raised France’s concerns over the safety of its troops in Syria.
French officials have previously said that the US’s withdrawal would force French troops to also leave, which was confirmed by a regional diplomatic source, who told Reuters that Paris was preparing to pull out its several hundred special forces.
The source added that the special forces are operating closely with Kurdish forces, who are now the target of Turkey’s offensive in northern Syria. French aid workers are also in the offensive zone.
