ISTANBUL: Turkey’s defense minister says Turkish and US soldiers will patrol the key northern Syrian town of Manbij as part of a deal reached this week for the withdrawal of a Syrian Kurdish militia.
Speaking in Brussels after a NATO summit late Friday, Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said he met his American counterpart James Mattis. “We had a very detailed, constructive and positive meeting on the Manbij roadmap,” he said.
Turkey has repeatedly called on the US to stop backing the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, which it considers terrorists and an extension of a Kurdish insurgency within its own borders.
The US-backed force has been instrumental in fighting the Daesh group and pushing them out of northern Syria, including in Manbij.
Canikli’s comments were carried by Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency.
Turkey: US and Turkish troops to patrol Manbij
Turkey: US and Turkish troops to patrol Manbij
- Turkey has repeatedly called on the US to stop backing the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, which it considers terrorists
- Speaking in Brussels after a NATO summit late Friday, Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said he met his American counterpart James Mattis
Italy urges its citizens to leave Iran, be vigilant across Middle East
- The ministry said travel to Iraq and Lebanon was also strongly discouraged
- It advised Italian nationals in Israel to exercise maximum caution
ROME: Italy’s foreign ministry on Friday urged its citizens to leave Iran and advised extreme caution across the Middle East, citing persistently unstable security conditions.
“Italians in (Iran) for tourism or whose presence is not strictly necessary are urged to depart,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that travel to Iraq and Lebanon was also strongly discouraged.
It advised Italian nationals in Israel to exercise maximum caution and remain vigilant.
Several governments have issued similar warnings in recent days. Britain said on Friday it had temporarily withdrawn its staff from Iran and closed its embassy amid rising regional tensions.
The United States has built up a large military presence across the Middle East ahead of a possible strike on Iran, as talks between the two countries over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions continue with no sign of a breakthrough.
