The US Department of Defense has said a ceasefire between pro-Turkish fighters and Syrian Kurds in northern Syria is in place and that the US government is continuing to monitor it.
Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh, who spoke at a press gaggle on Monday, said there is a “ceasefire that is still holding” in the northern part of Syria when asked about clashes between Turkey-backed fighters and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad by an alliance of rebel forces on December 8, the US announced in mid-December that it had brokered an extension of a ceasefire between pro-Turkish fighters and Syrian Kurds at the flashpoint town of Manbij and was seeking a broader understanding with Ankara.
The Manbij truce, which had recently expired, “is extended through the end of the week, and we will, obviously, look to see that ceasefire extended as far as possible into the future,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
But the Turkish Defense Ministry insisted Ankara was not talking with the SDF, saying it was out of the question for Turkey to meet with any “terrorist organization.”
Turkey has increased attacks on Kurdish forces since Assad’s fall, rejecting offers for a demilitarized zone near the Kurdish-held town of Kobani and other key areas. Ankara views the SDF as linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group designated as a terrorist organization by both Turkey and the US.
Singh also said the US is still focused on the mission in Syria, which is to ensure the defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
The SDF is a key US ally in combating ISIL.
Earlier this month, US Senators Chris Van Hollen and Lindsey Graham warned Turkey that bipartisan sanctions legislation would be introduced unless Ankara agrees to a ceasefire and demilitarized zone with Syrian Kurdish forces.
The senators warned that Turkey’s actions threaten the critical mission to prevent an ISIL resurgence.
Since 2016 Ankara, which has thousands of troops in northern Syria, has carried out several major operations against the SDF.