US, French troops could secure Syria's northern border

9/1/2025 6:55

Talks are taking place on whether U.S. and French troops could secure a border zone in northern Syria as part of efforts to defuse conflict between Turkey and Western-backed Kurdish Syrian forces, a senior Syrian Kurdish official said.



Ankara has warned that it will carry out a cross-border offensive into northeastern Syria against the Kurdish YPG militia if the group does not meet Turkish demands.



Turkey regards the YPG, which spearheads the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as a terrorist group linked to Kurdish PKK militants who for 40 years have waged an insurgency against the Turkish state.



The SDF played an important role in defeating Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria in 2014-17. The group still guards IS fighters in prison camps there, but has been on the back foot since rebels ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8.