Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has vowed to dislodge the Kurdish militia, which Ankara sees as an extension of the insurgency within its borders. Turkey already has troops in north-western Syria and has backed Syrian fighters there clearing towns and villages of Isis militants and Kurdish fighters. The Turkish IHA news agency reported on Sunday that a Turkish commando unit had been sent into Syria overnight. It said 50 vehicles had crossed into Syria carrying troops and equipment. Youssef Hammoud accused the Kurdish militia of reaching out to the Syrian government to replace US troops if they withdraw.

Source: The Guardian December 23, 2018 15:39 UTC