Ceasefire between Turkey and US-backed SDF in northern Syria holding
31/12/2024 6:20
The Pentagon said on Monday a ceasefire between Turkey and the U.S.-backed Kurdish Syrian forces around the northern Syrian city of Manbij was holding.
Washington brokered an initial ceasefire earlier this month after fighting that broke out as rebel groups advanced on Damascus and overthrew the rule of Bashar al-Assad. But on Dec. 19, a Turkish defense ministry official said there was no talk of a ceasefire deal between Ankara and the SDF.
"The ceasefire is holding in that northern part of Syria," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters.
The SDF is the main ally in a U.S. coalition against Islamic State militants in Syria. It is spearheaded by the YPG militia, a group that Ankara sees as an extension of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants that it outlaws and who have fought the Turkish state for 40 years.
Turkey regards the PKK, YPG and SDF as terrorist groups.
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