[Washington / Beirut 13th Reuters]-US Secretary of Defense Esper announced on the 13th that it would withdraw about 1000 US troops from North Syria. Turkey is expanding its attacks in the region, and Kurdish forces announced on the 13th that Syria has agreed to deploy troops along the Turkish border to help fight back against Turkey.
Esper, in a CBS interview, said: “In the last 24 hours, we found that Turkey is more likely to expand the attack further south and west than originally planned,” he said.
He also found out that the Kurdish-based armed forces “Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)” are trying to trade with Russia and Syria to compete with Turkey.
The secretary said that it was difficult to secure the safety of the US military in such a situation, and President Trump announced on the night of the 12th that he had ordered the planned withdrawal of the US military from northern Syria.
Two US officials have told Reuters that most will be withdrawn in the coming days as Turkey's attacks are growing.
US President Trump decided last week to withdraw 50 special forces from two locations in northern Syria. This is believed to have led to an attack on the Kurdish forces by Turkey.
Turkish President Erdogan announced on the 13th that Turkish troops had taken control of the city of Ras Al Ain, and that the attack would expand further along the Syrian border.
A few hours after Esper's remarks, Kurdish forces revealed that the Syrian army had agreed to deploy along the Turkish border to support a counterattack against Turkey.
Syrian state media reported that government troops have begun to advance into the northern combat zone to combat the “Turkish attack” in the Syrian territory.
The withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria and the advancement of Syrian government troops to the Turkish border highlights the decline in US influence in Syria, and is a victory for Syria's President Assad and Russia and Iran who support the regime.
If the Syrian government forces collide directly with the Turkish army along the Toriko border, the conflict may increase.
According to the Kurdish forces, about 785 foreigners, including the militant “Islamic State” (IS) fighters, who were detained in northern Syria after the bombing of Turkey on the 13th, fled.
President Erdogan denied these reports and told the state-run Anadoru news that the reports about the escape of IS fighters were "false information" to attract the interests of the Western countries.
US Treasury Secretary Mnushin announced on the 11th that President Trump has given the US authorities the authority to newly impose "very serious" sanctions against Turkey. [nL3N26W3KB]
Germany and France stopped exporting weapons to Turkey.