(Rmeilane) The US-led international coalition has increased the number of its patrols in northeast Syria after reducing them due to Turkish bombardment, an AFP correspondent and a military source said on Friday. Kurdish.
Turkey launched on November 20 a series of air raids in northeastern Syria on positions of Kurdish fighters, members of groups described as “terrorists” by Ankara.
A few hundred soldiers from the international coalition are deployed in this region in the hands of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF, dominated by the Kurds), spearheading the fight against the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) driven from its strongholds in Syria in 2019.
“The international coalition, in coordination with the SDF, has resumed its periodic patrols in northeast Syria, after they were reduced due to Turkish strikes on the area,” a source told AFP. Kurdish soldier, on condition of anonymity.
“Coordination between the SDF and the coalition has not stopped, but has gone down with the reduction of patrols and the need for the SDF to focus on Turkish threats,” he added.
Patrols had dropped from “20 a week to about five or six after the Turkish strikes began”, according to the Kurdish source.
These strikes, which killed dozens according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), have decreased in intensity in recent days.
Two coalition patrols left Friday morning in two different directions from its base in Rmeilane, near Hassaké, according to an AFP correspondent.
Each patrol included four armored vehicles displaying American flags and was accompanied by an SDF vehicle.
Coalition patrols also took place on Friday, further south, in the province of Deir Ezzor, according to the OSDH.
The international coalition is the main support of the SDF, mainly made up of members of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), described as a “terrorist” organization by Ankara.
After Turkey launched its strikes and threatened a ground operation, the SDF urged Washington to take a “tougher” stance to rein in Ankara.
The SDF has warned that Turkey’s escalation will hamper its fight against IS, waged with the coalition, as the jihadist group continues to carry out sporadic attacks.