The Turkish authorities on Wednesday sent new military reinforcements into northern Syria, including troops, vehicles and equipment, local sources reported.
In a recent analysis published by Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper, Vladimir Mukhin, a Moscow-based military expert, referred to certain Syrian sources' reports that the USA has agreed with the Kurdish forces to establish a military base in al-Tabaqa, and said the region is of vital importance to the US.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the forces had crossed the border in the last 24 hours and headed toward areas south of Azaz town, which is held by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels.
The Turkish move comes despite United States warnings about any actions that may hinder the Kurdish-led fight against ISIS in northern Syria.
He said that the SDF, which comprises of Arab, Kurdish, and Assyrian fighters, have lost tens of its fighters over the past two weeks of battles against IS in Raqqa, as a result of the suicide bombings carried out by IS against the SDF and allied forces, which are fighting to strip IS of its de facto capital of Raqqa.
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The PKK/PYD is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) involved in the plan to capture Raqqah and who have been supplied with USA arms.
Ankara views the PKK/PYD, which is the Syrian branch of the PKK, as a terrorist group and fears weapons supplied to the PKK/PYD for the operation to oust Daesh from Syria's Raqqah will end up in the hands of PKK terrorists fighting Turkish security forces.
Relations between the two North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies have become strained due to the support the United States has given the YPG, which Turkey has fought in northern Syria, to support the campaign against Daesh. The area is separated from the main territory the YPG and its allies control in the northeast. "The Coalition recognizes the threat the PKK poses to Turkey, but Turkey can not pursue that fight at the expense of our common fight against terrorists that threaten us all", he said, in reference to the war on ISIS jihadists.
"It's not always tidy, but we work out the issues", Mattis said.
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