Turkey Asks U.S. to Force Kurd Fighters to Quit Syrian Town
- Foreign Minister Cavusoglu says Manbij next after Al Bab win
- Minister says Syrian Kurdish militants should leave Manbij now
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Turkey vowed to capture a Syrian town if the U.S. doesn’t clear out the Kurdish fighters who control it, signaling its patience has worn thin over Washington’s backing of the militia -- a partner in the campaign against Islamic State.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara that the town of Manbij was the next target for Turkish troops and their rebel allies in Syria once they take full control of the border town of Al-Bab from Islamic State militants. The strategy aligns with Ankara’s objectives when it sent its army into Syria in August: to quash the radical Sunni group -- and to keep Syrian Kurdish forces from linking up with Kurdish PKK separatists in Turkey.