French presidency officials met representatives of the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces in Paris Friday and assured them of French support, an Elysee palace official said.
Officials from the U.S.-backed SDF met with advisers to French President Emmanuel Macron following President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw his forces. The SDF officials included Ilham Ahmed and Riad Darrar.
"The advisers passed on a message of support and solidarity and explained to them the talks France had with U.S. authorities to continue the fight against Daesh [ISIS]," an Elysee official said.
SDF spokesperson Mustafa Bali told Reuters earlier Friday that the SDF would have to withdraw fighters from the battle against Daesh to protect its borders in the event of a Turkish attack.
"Fighting terrorism will be difficult because our forces will be forced to withdraw from the Deir al-Zor front to take up positions on the border with Turkey to stop an eventual attack," Ahmed said in Paris.
The SDF said that Daesh launched an attack Friday on its positions in southeastern Syria and the U.S.-led coalition mounted airstrikes in the area.
Daesh used car bombs and dozens of militants in the attack near Abu Khaser village in the Hajin area, where the SDF and coalition are battling to wipe out the last Daesh pocket east of the Euphrates River, Bali said.
Fierce clashes were continuing, Bali said in a text message to Reuters.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said U.S.-led coalition airstrikes killed 13 militants and 14 of their relatives.
"At least 27 people were killed this morning in Al-Shaafa," Rami Abdel-Rahman, the head of the Observatory, told AFP.
He said eight children were among the 14 civilian victims and added several people were seriously wounded in the strikes.
The raids targeted Daesh positions in Al-Shaafa, one of the two main villages in the last pocket of territory still controlled by Daesh in the Euphrates River valley.
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.