ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Turkey’s foreign minister on Monday ordered predominantly Kurdish Syrian forces to withdraw east of the Euphrates River “immediately” or face more strikes by Turkish forces that crossed the border last week.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s comments came as Syrian opposition groups reported that Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have captured more towns and villages in northern Syria as part of the operation named “Euphrates Shield,” now in its sixth day.
Turkish tanks rolled across the border last week to help Syrian rebels seize the town of Jarablus from the Islamic State group, a move that was also aimed at deterring further advances by Kurdish-led forces.
The fighting pits Turkey, a NATO ally, against a U.S.-backed proxy that is the most effective ground force battling IS militants in Syria’s five-year-old civil war. It leaves Washington in the tough spot of having to choose between two allies, and is likely to divert resources from the fight against IS.
Both Turkey and the United States have ordered the main Kurdish fighting force, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, to withdraw to the east bank of the Euphrates.