Ankara urged Washington to stop the shift of Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militants from Syria's Manbij to Afrin, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Wednesday.

"Turkey has taken necessary steps through official channels between the two countries," Kalin told reporters in Ankara.

"It is Turkey's natural right to ask the U.S. to halt any such moves," he added.

Earlier this week, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced that they had sent fighters to the Afrin region to help the YPG in their fight against the Turkish army.

Turkey has repeatedly vowed to push its military operation toward the strategical city of Manbij, where about 2,000 American soldiers are stationed.

Washington has voiced concerns about the safety of U.S. troops in Manbij amid Turkey's military operation against YPG militants in northeastern Syria launched on Jan. 20.

Relations between Turkey and the U.S. are in crisis because of the support provided by Washington to the YPG, regarded by Ankara as Syrian affiliates of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Source:
@BRUDIRECT.COM

by Xinhua News Agency

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