(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian Kurdish militias have dug trenches and mobilized more troops in the towns of al-Malikiya town and Ras al Ayn at the Turkish border, days after the Turkish president slammed a U.S.-backed militant group, vowing to clear his country's border with Syria of "terrorists."
YPG and YPD fighters set up new shields and dug new trenches in northern Hasaka province, local sources told Zaman al-Wasl.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a rally in the central province of Karaman on Sunday that his country would not allow "terror nests" near its border, referring to areas held by the People's Protection Units or YPG in northern Syria, AP reported.
Turkey considers the YPG an extension of a Kurdish insurgency within its own borders, and launched an operation in August 2016 to clear part of its border of their and Daesh's (ISIS) presence.
Erdogan announced an expanded list of areas to be cleared. "We will clean Afrin of terrorists, we will clean Manbij of terrorists. We will clean Tel Abyad, Ras al-Ayn and Qamishli of terrorists," he said.
Turkey has a military presence in the western Syrian province of Idlib as part of a de-escalation agreement struck with Russia and Iran. The province borders YPG-controlled Afrin and Turkey has threatened to attack the group there.
Last month, Turkey's foreign minister said President Donald Trump promised to stop arming the militant group but the Pentagon said it was reviewing the process, stopping short of announcing a halt to weapons transfers. (With AP)
Zaman Al Wasl
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