Trump Says US Wants to Protect Syrian Kurds Even After Its Forces' Pullout

Trump Says US Wants to Protect Syrian Kurds Even After Its Forces' Pullout.

US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that Washington wants to continue to protect the Kurds in Syria even after the withdrawal of the US troops from the country.

Earlier in December, Trump said that he would pull the US forces out of Syria, stating that he believes the war against the Islamic State (IS) has ended and Washington's mission was accomplished.

The announcement came while Turkey has intensified its thereats to attack the Kurdish fighters in the eastern parts of Syria.

As a result, the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) reached an agreement with the Syrian regime and the country's military later declared that it entered Manbij in collaboration with the Kurdish forces in hopes of preventing the Turkish possible operation.

However, the US top official pointed out that the troops' withdrawal from Syria would not affect the ties between Washington and its Syrian Kurdish allies, reiterating that his country would continue to protect them.

Ankara views the YPG and other Kurdish forces in Syria as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an armed group which is designated as a "terrorist organization" by Turkey.