US-backed Syrian Kurdish troops say Russia has brokered an agreement between them and Turkish-backed opposition fighters. The deal seeks to avoid clashes between the two mutually hostile rivals, both fighting the Islamic State group in northern Syria.
The Manbij Military Council, part of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, says that under the deal, they will withdraw from a front line as rival Turkish-backed forces near the Euphrates River.
In this Wednesday, March 1, 2017 frame grab from video provided by the government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media, Syrian forces take up positions during fighting between Government forces and Islamic State group militants in the ancient city of Palmyra, near Homs, Syria. (Syrian Central Military Media, via AP)
This will allow Syrian government forces to create a buffer between them.
However, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tells reporters in Ankara there was no such agreement between Russia and the Syrian Kurds.
Kurdish-led forces captured the northern town of Manbij from IS last August, prompting Turkey to deploy troops into northern Syria.
Turkey considers the Kurdish forces a terrorist organization, linked to its home-grown Kurdish insurgency.
— AP
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