It also underscores Ankara's determination to push back Kurdish forces from along its borders, and curb their ambitions to form a contiguous entity in northern Syria. On Saturday, the Syrian rebels said they have seized a number of villages south of Jarablus from IS militants and Kurdish forces. Kurdish fighters of the YPG sit on their pickup in the town of Ein Eissa, Syria in this June 2015 file photo. The U.S. supported Turkey's call for the Kurdish forces to move back, and Kurdish officials said they withdrew the YPG forces from Manbij. UN appeals for 48-hour truce to deliver aidMeanwhile, the UN special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, appealed to the opposition to approve plans to deliver aid to rebel-held eastern Aleppo and government-held Aleppo through a government-controlled route north of Aleppo during a 48-hour humanitarian pause.

Source: CBC News August 27, 2016 19:41 UTC