ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said Monday that US and Turkish forces have begun training for planned joint patrols in Syria’s Manbij.
“The training now is under way and we’ll just have to see how that goes,” Mattis told reporters as he set off for Paris on Monday, according to Reuters.
“We have every reason to believe the joint patrols will be coming on time, when the training syllabus is complete so that we do it right,” Mattis added.
The two NATO allies are currently conducting “coordinated but independent” patrols around the northern Syrian city.
The US-led international coalition backed the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in a 2016 campaign to take Manbij from ISIS.
The city’s security is now in the hands of the Manbij Military Council.
The SDF is primarily composed of the Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG). Turkey objected to an SDF or YPG presence there, claiming they are Syrian extensions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The PKK is an armed opposition group fighting for greater political and cultural rights in Turkey.
Washington and Ankara reached an agreement on Manbij on June 4.
The training comes at a time when diplomatic relations have been strained by US sanctions and tariffs against Ankara over the detention of US pastor Andrew Brunson and inflammatory rhetoric by US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government has issued retaliatory sanctions on several American products.
US Department of Defense and Department of State officials have repeatedly said US forces will remain in northern Syria.
Mattis is in Paris this week where he will speak on Syria and African affairs. He is expected to hold a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“The training now is under way and we’ll just have to see how that goes,” Mattis told reporters as he set off for Paris on Monday, according to Reuters.
“We have every reason to believe the joint patrols will be coming on time, when the training syllabus is complete so that we do it right,” Mattis added.
The two NATO allies are currently conducting “coordinated but independent” patrols around the northern Syrian city.
The US-led international coalition backed the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in a 2016 campaign to take Manbij from ISIS.
The city’s security is now in the hands of the Manbij Military Council.
The SDF is primarily composed of the Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG). Turkey objected to an SDF or YPG presence there, claiming they are Syrian extensions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The PKK is an armed opposition group fighting for greater political and cultural rights in Turkey.
Washington and Ankara reached an agreement on Manbij on June 4.
The training comes at a time when diplomatic relations have been strained by US sanctions and tariffs against Ankara over the detention of US pastor Andrew Brunson and inflammatory rhetoric by US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government has issued retaliatory sanctions on several American products.
US Department of Defense and Department of State officials have repeatedly said US forces will remain in northern Syria.
Mattis is in Paris this week where he will speak on Syria and African affairs. He is expected to hold a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
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