French envoy to Iraq meets with top Kurdish leaders about protests, Syria
In the next meeting, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani discussed the recent political changes in Iraq and Syria with Ambassador Aubert, with both emphasizing that any escalation in Syria will not serve the people of the region and will instead result in the displacement of large numbers of civilians.
Late on Sunday, the White House issued a summary of a telephone call that US President Donald Trump held with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier that day which explained that Turkey was about to attack in northeastern Syria and that US forces would withdraw from the area where the Turkish military operation is to take place.
Read More: Turkey to attack in northeast Syria; US forces to pull back
The White House said that “Turkey will soon be moving forward with its long-planned operation into Northern Syria.”
A Turkish assault on northeastern Syria raises many questions about the future of that area. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been America’s main ally in the war against the so-called Islamic State in Syria. The SDF controls large swathes of territory, about one-third of the country.
Turkey considers the Kurdish component of the SDF—the People’s Protection Units (YPG)—as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), with whom it has fought a decade's long conflict over Kurdish rights in Turkey.
France is an essential member of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State. Since 2014, the French government has provided humanitarian, logistical, and military support to the Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi forces in the fight against the extremist organization.
Editing by John J. Catherine